An electric vehicle has been pictured in ruins after exploding overnight outside a home in Worcester.

The owner of the EV is said to be traumatised following the blast, which took place in leafy St John's.

Such was the intesity of the explosion, the mum, who did not want to be named, initially believed a television had fallen off the wall during the early hours of Wednesday morning.

However, when she saw spiralling flames in the reflection of her neighbour's window, she knew it was something much more serious.

The model of the Peugeot is unknown, as the EV is unrecognisable following the sudden eruption.

The cause of the explosion is also unknown, but the mother said she grabbed her two children and dog and vacated her home in the wake of the incident.

She says the car was not plugged in at the time.

The latest explosion comes amid warnings from fire chiefs that EVs pose a far greater explosion risk than petrol or diesel cars.

The National Fire Chiefs Council has recently written to MPs demanding drivers are warned about the dangers of EVs.

"Increasing awareness that electric vehicles are powered by lithium-ion batteries which can cause severe and potentially explosive fires when they become faulty, damaged (mechanically or electrically) or are exposed to extreme heat is paramount", the letter said.

"Thermal runaway can lead to the creation of toxic vapours and gases such as (not exhaustive) carbon monoxide, hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen chloride.

"Electric vehicle fires present new challenges for FRSs (fire end rescue services) as suppressing an electric vehicle fire requires large amounts of water and the fire can reignite hours or sometimes days later.

"Fire water that is contaminated with chemicals from battery fires is dangerous to the environment."