A Croydon councillor, a council officer and a pubgoer teamed up to stop an abandoned car being destroyed by fire in Thornton Heath.

The blazing vehicle was blocking the road by the Thomas Farley pub, at the junction of Gillett Road and the High Street, so Councillor Simon Hoare and John Bownas went into the boozer for help.

A customer grabbed a fire extinguisher and got the fire under control before firefighters arrived last night.

Coun Hoare said: “The car must have been left just before we arrived at it.

“There was no sign of a driver and several cars were trying to get around it.

“The fire was just catching hold underneath so we ran into the next door pub for a fire extinguisher.

“A customer grabbed one from behind the bar and we showed him where the car was.

“He did a great job getting the fire under control while we and a number of council patrol staff who were in the area at the time helped to keep other traffic away.

“The fire brigade were on the scene in minutes and quickly made sure the fire was out before clearing the car from the road.”