A Southland driver had a lucky escape when the caravan they were towing went up in flames earlier today.
The driver noticed it was on fire about 2km south of the township of Athol about midday.
Senior Sergeant James Ure, of Dunedin, said the driver noticed it was on fire, pulled over and detached it from the vehicle.
''It was a small fire but [then] the whole caravan has gone up,'' he said.
State Highway 6 was closed by emergency services but police had one lane open about 10 minutes after they arrived. The road was clear about 1pm.
A Fire Service spokesman could not confirm the cause of the fire but said no-one was injured.
It was unclear how the fire started, he said.
