A truck fire on a Chinese highway has burnt over £500,000 worth of goods including diesel engines.

The accident happened on Monday afternoon when a truck was heading for Chongqing on the Shanghai-Chongqing expressway.

When local firefighters arrived, the truck was totally engulfed in flames and high pressure water guns and fire extinguishers were used to put out the blaze.

The vehicle was carrying optical fiber cables, diesel engines and paints.

According to firefighters the accident was the result of a long journey and hot temperatures on the road surface, which can reach 70 degrees Celsius.

The truck driver said: "There was a traffic jam and I had to wait, but suddenly I spotted flames raging out from among the goods.

"I used my fire extinguisher, but to no avail, as the fire was too big for a small extinguisher to put it out."

The fire was brought under control after four hours.