Flames engulf a car sending thick black smoke billowing into the blue sky in this dramatic picture.

The blaze was caused after the vehicle’s engine apparently overheated as it was being driven along Wolverhampton Road, between Perton and Pattingham.

An onlooker said: “The car suddenly seemed to burst into flames just like that.

“It was really frightening.

“We didn’t know if it was going to explode or what might happen. It seemed like the engine had just overheated but everyone was staying well back.”

Express & Star reader Alistair Griffiths sent in the image after witnessing the drama unfold at 11.15am yesterday.

He said: “I was going along Wolverhampton Road when I saw it.” Incredibly, no-one is believed to have been hurt during the incident after the driver escaped the burning vehicle before the flames spread.

West Midlands Ambulance today said it had no record of being called to the scene.

Andrew Howard, head of road safety with the AA, said overheating engines had become an increasing problem with motorists getting out of the habit of checking engine water levels.

He said: “Years ago, because cars could get the occasional leak, people would always check their water levels before making a journey.

“But with modern cars you simply don’t get these leaks so drivers have got out of the habit of checking, which means there is more chance of water levels going down without the driver realising which leads to an overheated engine.” He said motorists should always check levels before making long journeys.

And he said if they did suspect an engine was overheating while driving they should pull over where safe and call the experts.

“Most cars will have a warning light these days and the important thing is not to ignore it and hope it will go away — it won’t,” he said.

“Pull over where it is safe to do so and my advice would be call the experts.

“The last thing a driver should be doing is  checking the engine because of the heat.”

The Wolverhampton Road drama happened just hours before a parked van was set alight in a suspected arson attack. The Fiat box van was gutted in the blaze in Castlebridge Gardens, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, that started around 12.30am today.