Newmarket woman Emma Banner gives thanks to stranger after her car suddenly caught fire on A14 near Bury St Edmunds

A Newmarket woman who was left shaken after her car suddenly burst into flames on the A14 last week has given thanks to a stranger who stepped in to help her in her time of need.

Emma Banner, 21, was driving her Audi A1 towards Bury St Edmunds at about 7.30am on Friday when she heard a massive bang and the car began juddering.

Thinking one of her tyres popped, Emma kept driving for a few minutes before stopping in a layby at junction 42, at Westley.

She got out of her vehicle and noticed smoke billowing from the bonnet as a man pulled up in front of her.

Shortly after, the car went up in flames.

Describing herself as in a heavy state of shock upon realising what had happened, Emma wished to express her thanks to the man, who went on to help her.

Emma said: “I was so shaken, my first thought was to call my mum rather than the police. He handled calling police and fire, although the ambulance was first to arrive.

“I’m so thankful he was there. I did express my gratitude to him at the scene but I don’t think it was enough. He helped the situation dramatically as I was in such a state that I wouldn’t have known what to do if I was on my own.”

Emma quickly escaped from her car and sat in the man’s car until emergency services arrived.

She said: “By the time I got into his car the entire passenger side of my car was up in flames.

“I was absolutely petrified. I’ve never experienced anything like that.

“When I saw the fire, I thought ‘oh my God’ and my heart dropped. I thought I’d lost so much money, coming up to Christmas as well.”

Emma said the stranger who helped her did give his name, but, as she ‘was such a mess’, she had forgotten.

She launched a Facebook appeal on Friday asking if anyone could put her in touch with him so she could thank him again, although she has had no luck in tracking him down.

The blaze gutted the front of Emma’s Audi, which she bought for £5,300.

She said the front seats were burnt out, her steering wheel melted and many of her belongings were destroyed.

Emma was medically assessed at the scene before being picked up by her mum roughly half an hour after the fire. She escaped the incident unscathed.

Days on from the crash, she still panics when behind the wheel, having to borrow her brother’s car to drive to her job at Camp Tails Doggy Day Care, in Eastern Way, Bury.

After an ‘emotional weekend’, she described her anxiety on having to drive to work that Monday.

“I was in tears the whole time,” she said.

“I’m still anxious, every time I think I hear something – even if nothing actually happened – my head will tell me I felt something and I start worrying that I’ll break down.”

Emma said she was still waiting to hear back about the cause of the fire and from her insurers.

She is on the look for another car but has said she plans to stay away from Audis for the foreseeable future.

Emma added: “I think it started in the engine but I was sure a light would come on if it did.

“I’m still searching for that man, but I’ve had a lot of messages from my Facebook post, with friends and family checking up on me.”