A WORCESTER man narrowly escaped serious injury when his motorcycle burst into flames on the way to work this morning.

Andrew Harris, of Warndon Villages, said if workmate Mark Lane had not been driving behind him at the time, he would have been "roasted".

"I was driving down Deansway just by the police station when a motorist beeped and said there was smoke coming out of my bike," said Mr Harris.

"I thought it was steam as it was raining but I pulled over when I got to the St John's roundabout to check just in case."

Mr Lane saw Mr Harris checking his bike, a Kawasaki ZXR 400, as he drove past on his way to the Subaru dealership in Hallow where they both work as technicians. He offered to drive behind him "just in case".

"I couldn't find anything wrong so I started it up again and it seemed OK," said Mr Harris.

As they drove into Hallow, Mr Lane indicated that more smoke was coming out, and Mr Harris dismounted.

"I got off and there were flames coming from underneath the seat. Within a minute of getting off, the bike burst into flames," said the motorcyclist, who was a "bit shaken".

"I told everybody to get away as the bike had a full tank of petrol and called the fire brigade, who arrived within minutes.

"If I hadn't had my friend behind me I would have been roasted."

The cause of the fire is still unknown.