Eight ‘incredible’ historic buses burned down in 'devastating' fire at industrial units near Andover

  • ITV News Meridian's Derek Johnson went to see the damage

Eight heritage buses were destroyed after a fire tore through a group of industrial units near Andover.

Fire crews from Hampshire and Wiltshire arrived at the farm in Penton Mewsey shortly 2am on Friday, 8 December.

One of the buses destroyed was Friends of King Alfred Buses's (FoKAB) 1950 Leyland Olympic JAA 708.

It was the first bus in Hampshire to have an engine under the floor. It ran in Winchester until 1966.

It came into the hands of the charity and was painstakingly restored. Credit: ITV News Meridian

Chairman of FoKAB James Freeman said: "No one was hurt, that’s the first thing to say. It’s very sad - we’ve lost some incredible buses.

"It would be an enormous task but listening to the response that we’ve had from across the bus industry - I just wonder whether we could do something with the wreck."

The Leyland was due to join others in a parade in Winchester on New Year's Day

The other seven buses destroyed in the fire belonged to FoKAB’s members and fellow preservationists. They included four Hants & Dorset buses and a luxury coach.

A FoKAB member's double-decker bus was a collector's item which he had been working on for 15 years. 

Richard Aldous said: "It was 16 years of ownership, 15 years of extensive restoration work.

"The time effort, and money that’s gone into - to have gone overnight is extraordinary. It's devastating."

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