A mum has told how the bus she was travelling on burst into flames – moments after she got off with her two-year-old daughter.
Fiona Taylor, 37, had caught the 262 Yorkshire Tiger service in Mirfield on Friday afternoon.
She was minutes away from picking up her five-year-old son Byron from Kirkheaton Primary School when the drama began at Bellstring Lane, Upper Hopton.
Fiona said: “As soon as I got on the bus there was a continuous beeping but I was on the phone to my sister and didn’t think too much about it.
“All of a sudden this man in his 40s, the only other passenger on the bus, began tapping me on the shoulder and I looked at the back of the bus and there was smoke coming out at the back and the beeping was very loud.
“He helped me get off with my buggy and Marnie.
“The bus driver had no charge on his mobile phone so this man called the fire brigade. I just wanted to get as far away as possible.
“Within three minutes the whole of the back of the bus was on fire, it was frightening.
“We were on a busy road and I was wondering what to do when a man pulled up in his car and kindly gave me a lift to my son’s school. I was fine at the scene but afterwards I had a bit of delayed shock.”
The three passengers and the driver were safely evacuated from the single decker bus which was gutted by fire just after 3pm on Friday.
Afterwards it was revealed that the driver was alerted to an engine problem by a flashing warning light and that the fire had started in the engine bay.
Two fire crews attended the incident and a West Yorkshire Fire Service spokesman said the fire damaged a nearby telegraph pole.
Richard Johnson, marketing director for Arriva, said: “Firstly, this was obviously a distressing incident for all, especially more so for any passengers with young children.
“I’m glad they are OK and sorry for any trauma this may have caused, especially for the young passenger.
“Unfortunately at this stage I’m unable to provide any further updates as there is an ongoing investigation into what happened on Friday.
“What I can say is this information will be passed onto Simon Finnie, the managing director of Yorkshire Tiger, to aid him in this investigation.”
