READER VIDEO: Findon's blazing boat

The 16ft "oyster" boat caught fire in front of stunned owner Les Farrow, 76, in the driveway of his Lime Road home.

Click on the green play button to see video, filmed by one of Mr Farrow's neighbours, of firefighters tackling the blaze.

Mr Farrow looked on in horror as first smoke, then 10ft flames burst through the plastic covering on his boat as it sat in his driveway.

Firefighters later found that a metal can resting on a seat within the boat had fallen against the terminals of the battery overnight.

This caused a spark which lit fumes and dregs of petrol left over from when Mr Farrow had cleaned the boat the day before.

"I went out to get a loaf of bread and I saw steam rising off the boat," said Mr Farrow.

"I thought the sun must be drying the plastic. Then the steam changed colour. I thought 'that ain't right'."

"By the time I got out of the car and went to have a look, it had exploded.

"I got in my car and pulled the boat away from the house without even thinking.

"My old heart was pumping like fury. "

Mr Farrow said the fire, on Wednesday, February 20, was the first of its kind he had seen in a lifetime of boating, including more than 30 years running a boatyard in Kent.

"All my working life I've never made a claim on insurance," said Mr Farrow.

"It's a complete write-off. It won't be going on the water any more. All's well that ends well in the sense we got it away from the house.

"This was the end of my boat thing. I think it might be a little warning to leave them alone."