Commuters feel 'unbelievable' heat from fire on double-decker bus at Waterloo

A bus driver was treated for smoke inhalation after fire broke out on his double-decker in front of commuters outside a main London station.

A 50-metre stretch of road outside Waterloo was cordoned off as firefighters spent 20 minutes tackling the blaze on the 243 bus.

Ieva, who works at the Hole in the Wall pub opposite, said her customers were told to stay inside after the fire broke out at 7.30pm.

She said: “We were told not to leave the building for a while as the cordon came right up to the pub.”

Witness Aaron Perry wrote on Twitter: “The heat from the bus on fire at Waterloo was unbelievable.”

A spokesman for Transport for London said other bus routes had to be temporarily diverted while the street was blocked off.

No passengers were on board at the time of the blaze, thought to have been triggered by a faulty headlamp, as the bus was returning to the depot. The driver was treated at the scene and did not require hospital treatment.