PUPILS had to scramble off their school bus when the engine went up in flames beside a village church.

The John Kyrle School students quickly evacuated the H&H coach in Ruardean High Street last Thursday morning, when the driver spotted smoke billowing from the engine at the back of the vehicle.

Alerted to the blaze, the owner of the Ruardean petrol station dashed across the road with fire extinguishers and managed to put the blaze out, averting the risk of a fireball.

Eyewitness Mick Cordell said the cool headedness of garage boss James Harper prevented the fire spreading to the rest of the bus, while the pupils looked on from a safe distance.

“There were power and phone lines above, so it could have been nasty,” said the 63-year-old. “It was lucky the bus stopped where it did, because if it had gone on out of the village into the country, there would have been no help to put the fire out.

“There was choking smoke pouring out of the back end, so James did really well to put it out. The fire was effectively out by the time the fire brigade arrived after about eight minutes.”

The incident happened as the bus pulled into the village around 7.55am, with pupils on board and others waiting at the roadside beside the church gates to be picked up.

Builder Mr Cordell was just pulling out of his drive when he saw flames coming from the back of the vehicle and ran to get help from the garage.

“I could see fire coming out of the engine under the back of the bus, and something in flames was dripping onto the road. It could quickly have become a fireball.

“James stuck a fire extinguisher under the engine where it was burning and then I handed him a second one as he very carefully opened the engine.

“There was a lot of choking smoke coming out, but James managed to put the blaze out while I called the fire brigade. He did really well,” added the father of four.

“I could see fire through the air grill and it was caught just in time. Luckily it was spotted when it was, because if the fire had spread to the compartment above the consequences could have been very serious.

“The whole thing was quite dramatic first thing in the morning, but everyone remained calm, including the pupils.

“Thankfully the bus driver had got the children off the bus to safety further up the street, and later a teacher drove up and sorted them out. I think there were about 10 who had got off the bus and another eight to 10 who had been waiting.”

A spokesperson for John Kyrle School in Ross-on-Wye said: “An H&H school bus service in the Forest of Dean had an issue with an electrical fault this morning at the first stop on its route.  

“The small number of students present were removed from the bus immediately and safely, and a member of school staff stopped to assist.

“There were no injuries to any students, and another bus was redirected to collect students on the affected route. Students were all seen by staff shortly after arriving at school.

“The school contacted the bus company and are happy that the appropriate checks had been made on the vehicle, which has recently been inspected by the Driver and Vehicles Standards Agency.  

“The school liaised with Herefordshire Council and the school’s independent health and safety consultant. We take transport safety very ser-

iously, but prompt action by the school, the bus driver and local people, including a fire crew who attended as a precaution, helped ensure that this minor incident was dealt with quickly, calmly and without any injuries or distress.”

The Review tried to contact H&H for a comment.