Passengers were forced to flee a bus after a blaze broke out in its engine as it travelled through a Shropshire village today. The alarm was raised just before 7.30am.

The driver was forced to stop the burning vehicle after noticing the fire in Morda, near Oswestry.

Several people had to evacuate the bus after the alarm was raised.

The bus operator, Tanat Valley Coaches of Llanrhaeadr-Ym-Mochnant, said today the driver had followed safety procedures and passengers had been evacuated from the vehicle safely.

A spokesman for the company said the bus, which had been travelling from Welshpool to Oswestry, had been badly damaged in the incident.

He said: “The fire wasn’t big and was just confined to the engine compartment but the bus has been badly damaged as a result and is now a write-off.

“We had several passengers on the bus but they were all able to get off without any problems because the driver just stopped to let them off.

“Another bus arrived at the scene shortly after and we were able to continue operating the service as normal.

“We are relieved that no-one was injured and glad the fire didn’t spread any further.”

A spokeswoman for the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said one pump, and crews from Oswestry Fire Station using breathing apparatus had the fire under control within about 15 minutes.

She said: “The fire is believed to have started in the engine compartment and didn’t spread any further.

“No-one was on the bus by the time we arrived and we had the fire under control within minutes.”