Residents of Monmouth were startled to hear a loud bang just after 10am on Saturday morning and watched a pall of smoke rise up over the town's rooftops. A car had exploded while waiting at the traffic lights at the top end of town and by the time fire crews arived on the scene, the car had pretty much been destroyed. The Robin Reliant belonged to Gerald Smith of Whitchurch (pictured with the remains of his car), who had made his way up town. "I was at the traffic lights when suddenly the car went bang and burst into flames," he said. He managed to get out safely but was somewhat annoyed as he had just put three brand new tyres on the car. The remains of the car were later taken away.