A van caught fire near Paragon along Bideford Road at approximately 1120am today.

The fire was extinguished within 10 minutes by 10 firemen. It was believed no one was hurt.

The van, from Hi Tech - a dry cleaning company - was in flames along Bideford Road, just metres away from the Paragon taxi stand.

The driver, believed to be in his late 30s, told the police that he smelled smoke while driving. He stopped his vehicle and quickly removed all the laundry before it caught fire.

Many tourists were in the area at that time and they quickly unleashed the citizen journalists within themselves by whipping out their smartphones.

The entrance leading to Paragon will be closed for further investigations.

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