A SECURITY van reportedly filled with £400,000 in cash exploded in a ball of flames outside a popular town centre pub.

Pub-goers were ushered out of the Playhouse, in St John’s Street, Colchester on Friday after the vehicle caught fire.

A G4S security van, understood to be loaded with hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash, suffered an electrical fault at about 2.15pm.

Witnesses watched on as the fire took hold, filling the street with “black smoke.”

The van rolled several meters down a slope before coming to a rest.

As the pub filled with smoke, staff acted quickly to evacuate the building, with crowds spilling on to the street.

Frances Avent was teaching a piano lesson in a building opposite the town centre hotspot when the fire took hold.

She said: “I was teaching when I smelled the smoke “It was a kind of electrical smell.

“When I looked outside everything was black and this van was on fire.

“I wasn’t sure whether it could catch on to the side of the building as it was very close.

“It was much less scary for me than the people in the pub and outside, I am sure.

“There were a few smaller explosions.

“The emergency services were there very quickly and I was evacuated.

“Everyone was crowding the streets trying to have a look and find out what was going on.

“Some weren’t particularly helpful, taking photos by the police officers.

“I must have been in the building for ten to 15 minutes, but when the adrenaline kicks in your concept of time goes out the win d o w.

“It was dealt with efficiently, they were all very professional.

“I think you can’t be too careful with security in his day and age.”

David Matthews, from Colchester, was stepping off a bus with his partner when he witnessed the fire.

He said: “We got off the bus and saw the smoke.

There was lots of it, it was filling the street.

“We then heard a booming bang as the van exploded.

“The police told us to move out of the way so we walked up the road.”

Another witness praised the pub staff for their quick-thinking.

She said: “It was pretty scary to see it go up so quickly.

“The staff were outstanding, they deserve praise.

“There was such a strong smell of smoke. The alarm went off and everyone was out within minutes.”

THICK smoke spread through a nearby flat after an engine fault caused a security van to go up in a ball of flames.

Emergency services were quickly on the scene of the fire, in St John’s Street, Colchester, which took hold at 2.15pm on Friday. Crews extinguished the flames by 2.30pm.

One officer said: “Fire crews were called to reports of a vehicle fire in Colchester.

“When crews arrived, they found a van was completely alight and smoke had spread to a nearby flat via an open window.

“Firefighters were able to extin - guish the fire by 2.30pm.

“Fire crews then used a fan to clear the smoke from the affected flat.

“The kitchen has been left with some smoke damage, but the rest of the flat was unaffected.

“The fire was caused by an engine fault on the van.”

The Playhouse pub, in St John’s Street, was closed to customers after the alarm was raised.

It remained shut for business throughout Friday afternoon as the damage was assessed.

On Friday afternoon a spokesman for JD Wetherspoon said: “The fire happened right outside the pub and smoke came into the pub.

“The pub was evacuated at around 2.15pm.

“Fire inspectors are in the pub checking it out.

“We hope to be open again as soon as possible, but don’t know what time at this stage.”