Lucky Shiraz Nawaz, 36, was walking to his local takeaway when he heard buzzing from the ground just a few feet behind him. The building contractor turned around just in time to see a massive plume of black smoke followed by huge flames shooting up from the ground.
Incredibly the dad-of-two - who feels lucky to be alive - managed to grab his phone in time to take a film of the astonishing incident in Stratford Road, Shirley, Solihull. The baffling movie shows plumes dark smoke billowing up out of the charred ground, followed by blasts of flames, reaching the top of the nearby shop fronts.