The inside of the vintage vehicle was reduced to a melted mess after bursting into flames in the backyard of the man’s Wardle Street home at around 1.30pm.

The man was reportedly working on the car and had ducked inside to grab a quick drink when it’s believed an electrical fault in the engine bay sparked a blaze that rapidly consumed the front end of the vehicle.

The man, aged in his 60s, was home alone at the time and told fire fighters it took only seconds for flames to engulf his pride and joy which he had owned for 42 years.

A long-term resident who lives in the same street as the man said he too was devastated for his loss.

“The car has been in the family forever, it really is devastating for the man. His kids learned to drive in that car, they helped their dad work on it many times while growing up,” he said.

Frantic neighbours called triple zero and raced to help the man douse the flames with garden hoses.

Together, they managed to extinguish the fire and stop it from spreading before emergency services arrived.

The inferno sent a huge plume of thick toxic smoke into the sky which could be seen and smelt from several kilometres away.

The vehicle’s owner and two neighbours, a man and a woman, were treated for smoke inhalation by Ambulance Paramedics at the scene.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.