FIVE teenage boys escaped unhurt after the car they were travelling in set on fire.

They were heading from Pitsea to Southend when they noticed smoke coming from the white Volkswagen Lupo as they got near Sadlers Farm roundabout.

Firefighters from Basildon and Rayleigh Weir were called to the incident at 11.45pm on Saturday and found the vehicle 50 percent alight.

The blaze is believed to have started because of a mechanical fault.

Rayleigh Weir firefighter David Ferguson, officer in charge of the operation, said: “Luckily no one was hurt. The lads got out of the car and contacted us straight away, which is of course the right thing to do.”