1980, November 22: Telford Man’s Fiery Death

The Legend:

On November 22, 1980, a middle-aged man in Telford, Shropshire, England, was found badly burned in his car; yet the car itself had very little damage. It was suggested he had attempted suicide, but this could not be proven.

Unreliable

        This is the first listing of this incident in Anomalies, and therefore will require more research to confirm it. This is especially true because the above comes from Jenny Randles and Peter Hough's 1992 book, Spontaneous Human Combustion; this book gives almost no sources for the accounts it relates, most often attributing them to "Author's own investigation" and "Historical archives traced and researched"... which essentially means "Just trust us." In this case, the above is attributed to Fortean Times magazine, but we are not told a date or issue number. For this reason, this account is marked as both "Unreliable" and "Investigate;" I will add new information as I get a chance to dig further.