Shocking footage shows a plastic water bottle with water setting a car seat alight after creating a magnifying glass effect with the hot sunlight.

Mechanic Aut Autakorn noticed smoke coming from the cup holder beside the gear stick of a car left in his repair garage in Trang province, Thailand, on March 22 afternoon when temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius.

At first he thought the car owner left a burning cigarette inside but when he looked closer, he found the water reflecting the sunlight and burning the car seat’s leather beside it.

The mechanic said: ‘People should be more careful when leaving their car parked outside that way. Bottles should always be kept away from sunlight.’

Leaving the bottle behind in a car with soaring temperatures makes it a fire hazard as the plastic and water create a magnifying glass effect.

Shocking footage shows a plastic water bottle with water setting a car seat alight after creating a magnifying glass effect with the hot sunlight.

Mechanic Aut Autakorn noticed smoke coming from the cup holder beside the gear stick of a car left in his repair garage in Trang province, Thailand, on March 22 afternoon when temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius.

At first he thought the car owner left a burning cigarette inside but when he looked closer, he found the water reflecting the sunlight and burning the car seat’s leather beside it.

The mechanic said: ‘People should be more careful when leaving their car parked outside that way. Bottles should always be kept away from sunlight.’

Leaving the bottle behind in a car with soaring temperatures makes it a fire hazard as the plastic and water create a magnifying glass effect.