A lorry driver escaped his blazing vehicle unhurt on the motorway last night.

Firefighters were called to the articulated lorry on the northbound hard shoulder of the M40 between junctions 8a and 9 just before 10pm.

The driver had escaped his vehicle and then alerted the fire service, which sent four crews from Wheatley, Thame, Bicester and the Slade in Oxford.

It is thought the cause of the fire was accidental, said a fire service spokesman.