Richard Bacon shares dramatic video of his car going up in flames in LA

Former 'Blue Peter' host fled vehicle when it started making ‘a funny noise’

Richard Bacon narrowly escaped being caught in a burning car this week, after his vehicle burst into flames in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday (4 August), the former Blue Peter host revealed on Twitter that he and three passengers were driving along the city's Pacific Coast Highway when his car started to make "a funny noise”.

Everyone in the car managed to flee the vehicle before it set on fire.

"I guess we’re gonna need a lift home," he joked. "Thanks to the lovely Santa Monica fire department and the delightful people on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) who stopped to help. The car started making a funny noise as we drove home from Malibu. Then dramatically caught fire. All 4 of us fine."

He shared a video of the scene, showing the front of his SUV ablaze on the side of the road, as firefighters hosed it down.

Bacon rose to fame as a presenter on the British children’s show Blue Peter. He was notoriously fired from the programme in 1998 after his cocaine use was exposed in the tabloid press. Following his dismissal, he made a public apology.

He previously said the scandal "had a huge impact" on his life, and is "almost as big a part of me now as one of my limbs".