Thick grassfire smoke engulfed cars as drivers were stuck on heavy traffic on a highway in the Philippines.

Footage shows the dirty white plume being blown onto the road by winds, covering vehicles in fumes in Tarlac, the Philippines on March 5.

A long queue of drivers waited for the traffic to move along while a giant cloud of smoke concealed the road ahead.

The blaze was raging on the grassy side which was only 20ft (6m) away from the road.

Driver Romeo Richard Bernarte said: 'Firefighters were called and responded to extinguish the fire. We were caught in the traffic jam for at least an hour.'

Grassfires in the Philippines are especially common during the dry season from March to May when heat, strong winds, and lack of rain create ideal conditions for fires to spread rapidly.