SPONTANEOUS combustion of garden clippings may have caused a car fire on a York driveway which spread to the outside of a house.

Firefighters were called at 2.15am today to Key Way, off Fordlands Road, Fulford, to tackle the blaze in a Ford hatchback, adjacent fencing and the exterior of the property's kitchen.

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said everyone was out of the property by the time the York crew arrived.

"The cause is believed to be due to spontaneous combustion of garden clippings in an external storage bin or arcing of a discarded battery in the bin," said a spokeswoman.

The fire caused severe damage to the fencing and the window of the kitchen, and also cracked a window upstairs.