Garbage truck driver forced to dump load in Adelaide CBD after fire ignites

A truck driver was forced to dump his rubbish load in Adelaide's CBD when the back of the vehicle erupted in flames earlier today.

Witnesses say the driver realised the contents of the truck were well alight around 7am, forcing him to think quickly and unload it in a Gilbert Street carpark.

"When I arrived it was already quite big - then it got really big, very, very fast," witness Phoebe O'Toole told 9News.

The driver was able to get away from the truck and the rubbish load before the flames got too high and fire crews were able to extinguish it a short time later.