Passengers flee flaming bus

03 September 2009

Picture by Rhys Hayward

PANICKED passengers pleaded to be allowed off a smoking bus moments before it burst into flames, a Weston survivor has told the Mercury.

Filmmaker Rhys Hayward was on his way to London from Bristol when smoke prompted screams from the back of the National Express vehicle he was travelling in.

Luckily the driver responded to his passengers' pleas and everyone was able to disembark before the bus caught alight at the side of the M4 motorway.

Now an investigation into the cause of the fire has begun amid Mr Hayward's claims that the bus driver failed to implement the company's 'strict safety procedures'.

The 38-year-old, of Clevedon Road, said: "About 25 minutes into the journey there was shouting from the back of the bus about smoke coming from the engine.

"A group of Somali women and their children were screaming and smoke began to filter down the bus prompting passengers to ask the driver to stop.

"In my opinion it took a long time for the driver to pull up and people were just relieved that he opened the door to be let off."

Mr Hayward was on his way to a film meeting in the capital he had arranged two days before his trip on Wednesday last week.

He caught the 040 from Bristol Bus Station to London Victoria at 9.45am, before the mayhem ensued.

Pictures taken by Mr Hayward on the M4 hard shoulder show the severity of the situation the passengers found themselves in.

He added: "Fire could be seen shortly afterwards, and the extent of the danger began to sink in.

"The driver failed to issue any safety instructions to those on board, and neither he nor the National Express drivers who stopped on the hard shoulder did a head count of the passengers involved."

Two passing National Express coaches took all 48 passengers to the service station close by. Those people without luggage travelled immediately onwards to London. Others who had belongings waited for the fire brigade to release their luggage and then travelled on a replacement coach to London.

A National Express spokesperson said: "All customers were safely directed off the coach by the driver before travelling to their onward destination by replacement services.

"They were met by customer service staff at London Victoria.

"In being prepared for this type of emergency situation we follow strict procedures, with the priority of moving people off the motorway."

The spokesman added that compensation would be discussed with passengers on an individual basis.