A mum and her three children have been left traumatised after her new electric car exploded in a fireball outside their home while they slept.

The 2024-reg Peugeot was not charging when it suddenly burst into flames on the driveway in Henley Close, St Johns, Worcester.

Firefighters dashed to the scene shortly after midnight on Wednesday (29/1) and spent more than an hour tackling the blaze.

The mum was woken by a "massive bang" and managed to scramble her three children and their dog out of the property before the fire spread."

The woman, who does not want to be named, said the car was not plugged in or charging at the time of the fire.

She said: "I was asleep, all the kids were asleep and I just heard a massive bang. "

"At first I thought the television had fallen off the wall but when I looked outside I saw the reflection of the flames in our neighbour's windows. "

"I was in shock."

"I'm traumatised, the kids are traumatised. I grabbed my three children and the dog and rushed out of the house as quickly as I could."

"It was an electric Peugeot with a 24 reg that I bought in May, the fire was that bad that you can't even tell anymore. "

"It now looks like an old racing car that has been abandoned."

The mum said the car had not been used since 7pm on January 28 – around five hours before the explosion.

A Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue spokesperson said: "At 12.30am on January 29 we were called to reports of a vehicle fire at an address in Henley Close, Worcester."

"Four crews, two from Worcester, one from Droitwich and one from Malvern were sent to the scene. "

"Four crews went due to the large number of phone calls we had received from the public to make sure the fire did not spread from the driveway to the property."

"Firefighters extinguished the fire. "

"There are no casualties to report and crews left the scene at 1.44am."