Traffic chaos spread across Oxford yesterday afternoon after the High Street was brought to a standstill following a fire on a No5 bus.

Park and Ride buses reported delays of more than half an hour, while tailbacks spread over Magdalen Bridge and into East Oxford as firefighters dealt with the blaze.

The Oxford Bus Company vehicle was heading towards East Oxford along the High Street at 1.20pm yesterday when an engine fire broke out. Passengers were swiftly evacuated and no-one was hurt.

John Welsby, 64, from central Oxford, was on the High Street at the time and took th0e picture, above.

He said: “The whole bus was enveloped in smoke, it was very dramatic. Flames were coming from underneath the bus and it looked like the whole passenger area was written off inside.”

Crowds gathered to watch the flames.

Police arrived on the scene shortly before 2pm and put diversions in place.

Oxford Bus Company spokesman Phil Ashworth said: “Our staff are trained to deal with emergencies. The bus driver and an inspector carried out the procedures successfully and there was no-one on the bus by the time the flames took hold.”

He said the bus had been towed back to the depot in Cowley and an inquiry would be carried out.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “It was a small fire in the engine compartment.

“A small quantity of diesel was leaking from the vehicle so we remained on scene to deal with that and hand over to highways.”