PASSENGERS looked on in horror as flames engulfed the double decker bus they had been travelling on moments before.

The dramatic scene was captured by Birmingham Mail reader Brenda Palmer, who was driven past the bus at the Stonebridge Island in Coventry Road, near the NEC, yesterday lunchtime. No-one suffered serious harm but the driver had a minor cut to his left hand.

He sprang into action, evacuating all 21 passengers after hearing a loud bang.

Mrs Palmer, aged 67 and from Castle Bromwich, said she saw a cloud of thick, black smoke and then felt the heat from the blaze from across the road.

“It was so shocking to see a double decker completely ablaze,” she said. “I was glad people were outside the bus which seemed to mean they were safe.”

Hay Mills Watch Commander Colin Phillips said the cause of the blaze was thought to have been an electrical fault in the engine.