THOUSANDS of rice pudding and custard tins exploded after a lorry blaze on the A382 near Chagford on Monday morning. The vehicle was carrying 26 tonnes worth of the desserts to a Dartmoor town when a fire broke out in the engine bay. Before long, the heat generated caused the tins to start exploding. Initially the lorry driver was unaware of the fireworks going off in his trailer, and continued his journey along the highway. Eventually he caught sight of other motorists flagging his attention and stopped the vehicle. Immediately he disconnected the lorry from its trailer and called the fire brigade. Two crews from Chagford and Moretonhampstead arrived at the scene at around 11.50am. They used four sets of breathing apparatus, three hose reel jets and a thermal imaging camera to extinguish the blaze, which left the lorry gutted. The Highways Agency also attended the incident and the road was shut until around 6pm. No-one was hurt during the incident.