A CAR was written off after an engine fault caused it to reverse itself up its owner’s driveway and crash into his house.

A spokesman for the Fairweather Green fire crew said the car, a Lexus, had been parked on a steep driveway outside the property on Toller Lane, Bradford, at around 10.30am yesterday, when an electrical fault developed in the engine.

The problem caused a fire and led to the starter motor kicking in, causing the car to move backwards up the drive and crash into the wall of the house.

Police and fire crews said they would not have believed the "bizarre" incident had it not been captured on CCTV.

One of the firefighters involved in putting out the blaze said: "I’ve been a firefighter for more than ten years and I’ve never seen anything as strange as that.

"Without seeing the CCTV footage, I’d never have believed what happened. It was bizarre."

The owner of the car was unavailable to comment today.