Man's anger after escaping Jaguar on fire on M1 near Watford

The driver, who did not wish to be named, sent his car for repairs just weeks before the fire broke out on the M1 on July 27 this year.

Images show the fire completely destroyed the car, with its roof ripped off, engine exposed and the luxury car generally left in its rubble.

The Harlesden man, who works as a bartender in Watford, was on his way to work when he noticed flames erupting while between J4 and J5 of the motorway.

The Jaguar was completely destroyed in a fire on the M1 (Image: handout)

He had purchased the F-Pace Jaguar from Cargiant in July 2021.

The next year he noticed a “knocking sound” from underneath the bonnet and took it into a garage where he was advised to return the vehicle to Cargiant.

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Cargiant hired engine specialists to carry out work and rebuild the engine and turbo unit.

Fire services from London and Hertfordshire were called along with police (Image: Handout)

Hertfordshire Constabulary says officers were called to assist fire services after reports of a black Jaguar on fire near junction 4.

Both the London Fire Brigade and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue were called to the scene and the flames were extinguished with a hose reel.

The man said: “Due to the extent of the fire, the insurance forensic team could not identify the actual cause of the fire but the probability of the fire would have been caused via the engine.

“I asked Cargiant to investigate both the engine specialist they used to repair the engine as to what could have caused the fire and also to discuss any manufacturing issues with Jaguar.”

The owner requested that Cargiant covers the amount that his insurance did not cover (Image: Handout)

Cargiant told him the fire could not be attributed to the repair and that an investigation will not be carried out.

“I was lucky to get out alive,” explained the driver.

A spokesperson for Cargiant said the third-party repair specialist, which it contracted for the work, "followed expected safety checks and carried out extensive road tests to ensure the repair was successful".

They said the driver had the vehicle back for 20 days before the fire.

"Following the incident, a forensic examiner inspected the vehicle and could not determine the cause of the fire," they said.

“We understand that [the driver's] insurance company paid out for the market value of the vehicle at the time.

“From our review and information received from [the driver], there hasn’t been anything to suggest liability for the incident due to the repair. We have been open to engaging with solicitors or insurers as appropriate to provide further information but have not been contacted.”