A DRIVER suffered burns to his hands in a major car fire, which saw a section of the A64 closed in both directions this morning.
Heavy traffic built up on the eastbound carriageway from the A1(M) due to an incident close to Copmanthorpe.
A Toyota Hilux was completely destroyed after it caught fire on the eastbound carriageway and caused smoke to blow across the road.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and North Yorkshire Police attended the fire at about 7.50am, and the road was closed in both directions for about an hour.
Firefighters, who attended from Tadcaster and Acomb, believe the blaze was caused by leaking batteries in the Toyota's back cab.
They also reported that the driver suffered slight burns to his hands.
Both carriageways reopened at about 8.45am but traffic remained very slow past the damaged vehicle for some time. The Hilux was eventually recovered and police left the scene at just after 9.40am.
Traffic problems were exacerbated when a silver Toyota Yaris broke down in the fast lane of the westbound carriageway at Tadcaster, at about 8.50am
The breakdown caused further disruptions and tailbacks as far back as Bilbrough Top, but was also recovered and the road fully reopened by about 9.40am.
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