Mellisa Grant was driving down Watling Street in Brownhills, Walsall, on Friday with her young sons Braidan, three, and Bradley, one, in the back seats when she spotted a fire in the vehicle

A mum bravely rescued her two young sons from a car inferno with seconds to spare.

Mellisa Grant, 27, was driving her Vauxhall Corsa in Brownhills, Walsall, on Friday, November 26, with her young sons Braidan, three, and Bradley, one, in the back seats.

She had turned the heating on to de-mist the car before spotting a fire in the passenger footwell.

Heroically, Mellisa threw Braidan away from the car as she struggled to get Bradley out of his car seat – thankfully the family made it out just in time before the car ‘exploded’.

She then raced to a nearby house and “threw up” on the lawn as she called 999.

Mellisa and her children have been left badly shaken by the ordeal.

She told BlackCountryLive: “Bradley doesn’t seem to know what happened, but my eldest Braidan keeps saying, ‘mommy car on fire Braidan and Bradley so scared’ and then he keeps waking up in the middle of the night coming in our room saying ‘mommy car on fire’.

“I keep having flashbacks when I close my eyes so I can’t really sleep.”

The mum, who lives in Brownhills, added: “I live just off the road it caught fire, we were travelling only down the road to Sainsbury’s to pick up some decorations and some things I ordered from Argos that day.”

She shared what happened on her Facebook page to raise awareness around the dangers. She said: “Tonight my car set on fire with me and my two babies in it.

“I managed to get Braidan out of his car seat, but I couldn’t get Bradley out of his car seat, the car was engulfed in flames so I threw Braidan away from us because I wasn’t go to leave Bradley and I’ll die trying to save my baby and the car was going to explode any second.

“I managed to pull him out. Not caring at this point if I broke his arm because I pulled him so hard.

“I ran with the kids to the nearest house screaming for help. The car then exploded behind us as I was screaming.

“The family in the house took my kids in as I threw up on their lawn as I rang 999, I think I was still screaming.”

Mellisa’s husband Jamie, 29, rushed to the scene.

She said: “Jamie came and thought we were still in the car because all he could hear was us screaming and the fire had set the horn off so he punched in the front window and cut his hand open.

“I’ve had some oxygen due to smoke inhalation, but other than that we are all okay. I haven’t stopped shaking.

“I can’t get that image out of my head the moment I was driving and I turned my head and saw the passenger side on fire. And the moment I threw Braidan away from the car because I thought me and Bradley was going to die.

“I don’t think I’m going to forget the moment I thought I was going to die with my babies. And I feel like I might never sleep again.”

She added: “I had the heating on full to de-mist the windscreen as I was driving, and smoke came through into the car vents and seconds later fire just appeared out of nowhere in the cabin on the front bottom passenger side (where their feet would be) where the heating is, all while I was still driving, it happened in seconds.

“I’ve had the car for five years with no problems. I picked it up from the MOT today to which it passed and it had a full/major service while at the garage (with both air filters and the oil filter replaced).

“It cannot happen to anyone else and I need answers to why me and my babies nearly lost our lives tonight.”

A spokesperson for West Midlands Fire Service said: “West Midlands Fire Service were called to reports of a fire on Watling Street, Walsall at 6.19pm on Friday 26 November.

“Firefighters from Aldridge Station attended and found a car on fire with the driver safely out of the vehicle after the assistance of a passer-by.

“Crews used breathing apparatus and a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire and provided oxygen therapy to the driver at the scene who was understandably shaken up by the incident.”