Van insurance news
30/01/2009

Freak fire destroys campervan

A man from Chorley in Cheshire has been left hoping that his van insurance company will cover the cost of replacing his campervan after it suddenly caught fire and was left a burnt-out smouldering wreck.

The 60-year-old said that he only bought his Ford Transit campervan conversion in September and had been working hard at renovating it when it unexpectedly started to smoke before catching fire.

"When I looked out, all I could see was the smoke coming from the back of the van," commented the van insurance customer.

Adding, "It is frustrating as I have done a lot of work to it and yet I am not going to be able to use it."It has proved to be an expensive project as I had to take out the kitchen and the side of the van fell apart. "The fire brigade said they thought it was an electric light had fallen over and caught fire to the curtains. "It was only a matter of minutes as I had been working under the bonnet and I went to answer the telephone. "When I looked out all I could see was the smoke coming from the back of the van." "I decided to remove a gas cylinder from the van and it is lucky because I think it could have been a fireball. "I managed to grab the keys to my other Ford campervan and move it off the drive before it got damaged. "I beeped my horn a couple of times to attract the neighbours and they all got out of the house safe." "The damage could have been worse because, if the bonnet had not been up, it would have encroached on our house."

He added that he hoped his van insurance company would cover the cost of the loss. "It is just a shell of what it used to be and I have to clear things up and I just hope the insurance company will cover the damage," he said.