Narrow Escape for Former Putney Society President
Anthony Marshall's car goes up in flames on the A3
The burnt out car on the A3 near New Malden. Picture: Anthony Marshall
June 11, 2024
There was a very close call earlier this month for 80-year-old Anthony Marshall and his wife Susan when their car suddenly went up in flames.
The former President of the Putney Society was travelling home on a Sunday evening (2 June) along the A3 near New Malden in the family’s 9-year-old BMW 2 series when it suddenly came to a halt with smoke coming from the engine.
There was so much smoke that they had no option but to abandon the car on the road and dodge oncoming traffic to get to the hard shoulder.
By the time they had summoned the emergency services, flames were coming from the car, but the Fire Brigade arrived quickly and managed to stop the fire spreading to the interior. It was too late for the stricken vehicle, the front of which was totally destroyed making it a write-off.
Vehicles continued to drive by with the car in flames. Picture: Anthony Marshall
The incident required two of the three lanes of the A3 to be closed for several hours awaiting recovery of the vehicle. Investigations continue into the cause of the fire.
“We were very lucky to escape unharmed and avoid a catastrophe” said Susan. “Imagine what could have happened if this had occurred 10 miles earlier when we were in the outside lane travelling through the roadworks at Wisley. Multi vehicle pile-up and serious injuries to ourselves and others, probably! We are having sleepless nights worrying about this”.
Fire fighters but the fire out quickly on arrival. Picture: Anthony Marshall
The couple moved out of Putney last July but didn’t go far and now live in Barnes near to Putney Lower Common.
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