THIS is the dramatic moment a fire took hold of a van last night near Winchester.

The photos were taken by passer-by Jacob Corrie on the Hockley Link near the South Winchester park and ride car park at around 9.30pm.

Jacob told the Chronicle: "Driving along and we see a truck in what looks like thick fog. My dad then realised it was smoke and that the truck was on fire.

"We pulled over, and I called the fire brigade. Dad checked on the driver. Driver was fine, didn't seem too upset. No one else was in the truck. No one was injured. The fire then got bigger, and there was an explosion before the fire grew in size even more. Fire brigade arrived quickly."

The cause of the incident was unclear.

A fire service spokesman said this morning: "The call came in at 9.30pm last night about a small vehicle fire on Hockley Link in Winchester. A crew from Winchester and a crew from Eastleigh attended.

"On arrival, the commercial van was well alight. The van was 75% damaged by fire and was extinguished using two breathing apparatus’ and two high-pressure hose reel jets.

"The scene was handed over to Highways and the stop message came in at 10.27pm."