FIRE crews battled with a raging fuel fire set in a stolen car's petrol tank in Bolton.

The incident took place at around 8.30pm in a field off Blackshaw Lane.

The fire was burning so intensely that crews had to refill their water tanks to continue fighting the flames.

It is believed that the white Nissan Micra's full petrol tank was deliberately set alight, with flames then engulfing the car.

The car is understood to have been reported stolen the previous day.

Police remained on the scene throughout the blaze, but the car was so badly damaged that forensic teams were unable to carry out investigations.

Bolton Central crew manager, Mark Hoare, said: "We were called to a car fire at about 8.30pm in Blackshaw Lane.

"We phoned the police and it was a known case to them.

"The car has been reported stolen and the petrol has been fired which has done the rest of the car.

"It took us ages to put it out because there was a full tank of fuel."

Crew manager Hoare said he had never seen a small car burning like that, and that the car was now "totally burned out".

He added: "We were there for a good hour because we had to go an fill up another tank of water from half a mile away.

"They found a spot where they know it is hard to get a fire engine and there's no CCTV. So who ever it is knew exactly what they were doing."