Lincolnshire Police were pursuing the 38-year-old man in Skegness after receiving an anonymous call.

Police said the car reached speeds of more than 70mph before crashing.

The body of the man, who is believed to live locally, was found in the car after firefighters tackled the blaze at around 2315 BST on Wednesday.

Rescue attempt

Officers told the driver to stop but instead he accelerated towards the A52 Boston road.

Police followed the car for about a minute but stopped the pursuit and lost sight of the vehicle.

About a minute later the officers found the car alight at the Lomax Corner Garage.

Tony Diggins, of Lincolnshire police, said officers did all they could:

"They found the Vauxhall Vectra and it had collided with the steel pole which hold the petrol station roof up.

Family comforted

"The car was on fire and they attempted to extinguish the flames and the fire brigade was called.

"Unfortunately it was too fierce and the man was found dead inside the car."

The man's family are being comforted by police liaison officers.

His death is the 36th fatality on the county's roads so far this year.