A baby was plucked from the burning wreckage of a car seconds before it was engulfed in flames outside a synagogue in north London.

Two worshippers celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover braved intense heat to free the child from a car seat after hearing the family’s screams for help.

An elderly man who had become panic-stricken and was unable to unfasten his seatbelt was also dragged free. Two other passengers managed to flee before the silver Peugeot 307 exploded.

The family were taken into the synagogue in Craven Park Road, Tottenham, to recover as firefighters arrived to tackle the flames.

Witnesses today told how the two men rushed to the rescue after hearing screams and the sound of an explosion on Sunday night.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: “We were called at 5.14pm to a car alight. We sent a fire engine from Tottenham. The fire was out by 5.30pm.”

A Met Police spokesman said police the incident was not being treated as suspicious.