Blaze leaves single-decker bus in Northampton '˜severely damaged'

The fire broke out on the single-decker bus on Bridge Meadow Road at around 10.10am.

Fire crews from Mereway and the Mounts attended the scene.

A spokesperson from Northamptonshire fire and rescue said: “It was a Stagecoach single-decker bus. There were no people on board and the cause was accidental. The fire involved a burst tyre.”

Chris Child, marketing manager for Stagecoach Midlands said: "I can confirm there was an incident this morning which resulted in the fire service being called. "A foreign object become embedded in one of our bus tyres, which resulted in excessive heat generation and the wheel caught light. "There were no passengers on board at the time. "All our vehicles are inspected by our engineers at least every three weeks and maintained to a much higher standard than those recommended by DVSA to ensure passenger safety and comfort. "These kind of incidents are incredibly rare and all our vehicles are checked by the driver at the start of their duty to help eliminate possible issues."