THREE young teenagers are on the run after crashing a car into an electricity box and causing it to explode.

The three boys were seen to run out of a red Ford Fiesta, believed to have been stolen from a Basildon address, shortly after 3.20am in Cranes Farm Road, Basildon, today after crashing it through the central reservation and into a lamp post, hitting an electricity box.

A police spokesman said: “Police were called to Cranes Farm Road in Basildon shortly after 3.20am today following reports of a single vehicle road traffic collision.

“Officers went to the scene to find a red Ford Fiesta on fire. It is believed the driver lost control of the vehicle before leaving the road and colliding with a lamp post and hitting an electrics box.

“Three young teenage boys were seen to get out of the car and run off. The road was closed while the fire service dealt with the blaze and debris was cleared. It reopened at 6.10am.

“The car is believed to have been stolen from an address in Basildon. A search for the suspects was carried out but they were not found.”

Witness Michele Harrison was returning from work around the time of the crash.

She said: “I was just about the turn into Cranes Close when the car veered off to the other side and crashed. They went through a post in the middle of the road which had a live wire that exploded when they hit it.

“The car smashed into an electrics box in a hedge and they ran out of the car into the housing estate. The car smoldered and then flared up – I had to keep my distance because it kept exploding.

“There was another couple there who saw the whole thing as they were driving towards it. It happened right in front of them and they could easily have been killed.

“I called the police and they got the helicopter out, which was hovering over the estate, then the fire brigade turned up.”

Anyone with information which could help police is asked to call Basildon police station on 101.