Cars outside a prison were damaged when one burst into flames yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to the car park at High Down prison near Banstead at 1.35pm after a Volkswagen Polo caught alight.

It is the latest in a series of call-outs to the fire brigade to the prison in recent months.

March 11: Prison inmate sets fire to plastic bag "full of paper" in cell

Feb 24: Inmate starts fire in prison cell at High Down near Banstead

Dec 2: Firemen called to 'mackerel mutiny' prison three times yesterday, including to blaze started in cell

A spokesman at Banstead fire station said the blaze damaged paintwork on a nearby Vauxhall people carrier before firefighters were able to extinguish the fire.

Both cars belonged to prison officers but the incident is not being treated as suspicious.

A fireman said: "We had two cars alight in the car park. It was not suspicious but looks like there was an electrical fault in the first car and the fire spread to a second one."

One of Epsom’s two fire engines and half the town’s firefighters relocated to Banstead in the Autumn.

November: Epsom's fire engine moves to police station in Banstead

Two firefighters in breathing apparatus used a hose reel to put out the blaze. The front of the Polo was destroyed but they managed to stop the petrol tank catching fire.