A YOUNG mother and her daughter escaped unharmed when their car caught fire on the motorway today (Sunday).

The woman, believed to be in her 30s, discovered flames coming from her Vauxhall Astra bonnet when she pulled over onto the M4 westbound hardshoulder between junctions 13 and 14 at 11.10am after her oil light came on.

Her six year-old daughter also fled the vehicle and crews from Newbury fire station arrived within minutes to tackle the flames which caused severe damage to the engine and melted the tyres.

Police closed the inside lane for more than 45 minutes to clear the wreckage.