SHOCKED residents of Huntsbottom Lane in Liss were woken in the the early hours of Monday morning by an exploding car. The untaxed blue Ford Escort had been abandoned for two weeks in a village lay-by. One resident of Huntsbottom Lane, who didn't wish to be named, was woken at 3am on Monday morning and saw flickering light through her curtains. She said that prior to the explosion the car looked as though it had been broken into, adding: "I heard a big bang and when I looked outside I could see the flames were about 10 feet high in the air. It was quite scary. My car was parked the other side of the hedge, but luckily it was quite damp and the fire didn't spread. "We have a few elderly neighbours who were quite shaken up by what happened." Emergency services were called at 2.55am. A spokesman for Hampshire fire and rescue confirmed that one crew from Petersfield attended the blzae but didn't know how the fire started. A police spokesman said: "We attended the scene to make sure the area was safe while the fire services put the fire out." Police said they were treating the incident as suspicious and that anyone with information should contact police on 0845 0454545.
