Mr Dolan said: “Originally it was reported as a vehicle fire so a retained crew from Broughton went along and spent some time trying to extinguish it. The driver then said there was a high percentage chance there was a petroleum cylinder in the back, so I went along with another crew from Barrow.

“We got there and deployed defensive tactics and cordoned off the area and doused the lorry with water for about 45 minutes to an hour. We also used thermal imaging cameras to seek out hot-spots.

“In the end there wasn’t even a canister in there but we had to be all belt and braces just in case.

“The lorry is badly damaged and a complete shell. Because of this we can’t ascertain the cause of the fire but the smoke started in the cab.”

There were no injuries and the horse the driver had been transporting had just been dropped off before the incident and he was on his way to pick up another.

An eye-witness, who was evacuated from his home and does not wish to be named, said: “I first noticed something was going on because of the queue of cars outside my house, so I went to have a look.

“The flames had died down a bit by the time I got there but I think they were quite high. The smoke made people come and see what was going on from Soutergate. From what I heard the driver had pulled over when he saw smoke coming from the lorry and it then set on fire.

“When the Barrow fireman came he decided to move everyone away and evacuate nearby houses because there was always a danger that the diesel would catch fire. I think he was erring on the side of caution. The house next to mine was empty so there was just me to move.

“I went to my brother-in-law’s house for a few hours.”