A hero driver of a double decker bus that was engulfed in flames outside of the Lyneham Ministry of Defence base has been praised for his quick thinking after he ushered waiting passengers away from the vehicle to make sure no one was hurt in the fireball.

When pulling up to a bus stop at Calne Road on Tuesday afternoon, the driver of the number 55 Stagecoach bus saw a warning light appear on the dashboard and followed procedure, turning the engine off, exiting the bus, clearing the area before calling the control room and 999.

Rupert Cox, Managing Director of Stagecoach West commended the driver and said: "All our drivers are trained in how to deal with incidents such as these and this driver did exactly as he had been trained to do to ensure nearby members of the publics' safety. We are working with the investigative officers to establish the cause of the incident."

Two fire crews from West Lea and Swindon tackled the blaze on Calne Road at approximately 2.20pm and had extinguished it by 3pm, while police officers from Malmesbury, Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade and Calne cordoned off the area and controlled the flow of traffic.

Two breathing apparatus and two hose reel jets were used to make the vehicle safe which was then recovered to Stagecoach West's Cheney Manor Depot for investigation to determine what caused the fire.

A replacement bus service was also provided by Stagecoach so customers were not inconvenienced by the fire.

Although the cause of the fire is currently unknown, several passengers have raised concerns that it could be heat related, as Britain celebrated the hottest day of the year with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees