Classic car enthusiast David Sale is fighting for compensation after his cherished Scimitar exploded in flames, ending up a charred lump in a lay-by.

Since June he claims to have been fighting to convince Keighley garage Motosave it was to blame for the inferno.

The 20 year-old Scimitar had been fitted with new shock absorbers only two days before the disaster and Mr Sale was returning the car to Motosave because he suspected something was wrong.

"I was travelling down the Aire valley road and people were waving at me. The car usually attracted a lot of attention and I thought people were admiring the vehicle. So I carried on.

"Then a chap on a motorcycle saved my life. He forced me to pull in and as I did so, flames came up round my seat. I was literally sitting in a fire,'' said Mr Sale, who manages Kilnsey Park and Fish Farm near Skipton. All he could do was stand well back and watch his £7,500 car burn up.

He said: "I was just numb with shock.''

FirefigClassic car enthusiast David Sale is fighting for compensation after his cherished Scimitar exploded in flames, ending up a charred lump in a lay-by.

Since June he claims to have been fighting to convince Keighley garage Motosave it was to blame for the inferno.

The 20 year-old Scimitar had been fitted with new shock absorbers only two days before the disaster and Mr Sale was returning the car to Motosave because he suspected something was wrong.

"I was travelling down the Aire valley road and people were waving at me. The car usually attracted a lot of attention and I thought people were admiring the vehicle. So I carried on.

"Then a chap on a motorcycle saved my life. He forced me to pull in and as I did so, flames came up round my seat. I was literally sitting in a fire,'' said Mr Sale, who manages Kilnsey Park and Fish Farm near Skipton. All he could do was stand well back and watch his £7,500 car burn up.

He said: "I was just numb with shock.''

Firefighters from Keighley said the seat of the blaze was at the rear and an independent automobile engineer agreed.

Mr Sale, who has four Scimitars, was present when the shock absorbers were replaced and he is convinced that a fuel pipe was ruptured and friction at the rear sparked the blaze.

But a spokesman for the garage said it was the first time he had heard about Mr Sale's plight and he would take steps to get an independent examination of the vehicle.

"I have been regional manager for three years and know nothing about this.

"If somebody says something has happened and says we are to blame we will look at the situation and if we are to blame we will do something about it. We need to decide what happened and decide if we are to blame.''

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