Car catches fire after hitting pole in Wallington

THOUSANDS of Bellarine residents sand businesses were without power on Tuesday morning after a car hit a power pole in Wallington.

Sergeant Sean Drew from Bellarine Police said a man in his 30s was travelling north along Grubb Road when he hit a power pole one kilometre south of Andersons Road.

“The vehicle caught fire when the pole landed on the car.”

“We were lucky there was no wind and the fire was contained quickly.”

Sgt Drew said a witness stopped and helped the man out of his car, before an ambulance took him to hospital for observation.

He said an inquiry was pending, but police believed driver error was to blame.

Sgt Drew said this accident was a timely reminder about the dangers of driving while fatigued.

Three police units, two CFA units and Powercor attended the accident site.

The car hit the pole at 7am and Grubb road was closed in both directions between Portarlington Road and the Bellarine Highway for most of the day.

Power was lost to areas including Wallington, Clifton Springs, Curlewis, Drysdale, Marcus Hill and Ocean Grove.