Teenager recalls moments before bus burst into flames near Barnard Castle

A pupil on board a bus that caught fire en route to school says they were moments away from disaster.

Tyler Heaviside was on the bus heading to Teesdale School when the 15-year-old and his fellow pupils had to evacuate the vehicle which burst into flames seconds later on Tuesday 18 June.

Hogdsons Coach Operators Ltd said the cause of the fire has not been determined and regular inspections are carried out on their vehicles.

No one was injured in the incident, near Barnard Castle, but Tyler believes the outcome could have been a lot worse.

Recalling the morning of the fire, he told ITV Tyne Tees it did not feel right.

"We went upstairs, me and my friend, and we all sat in the back of the bus upstairs, and when we got on, the seats were very hot," he said.

"If you would touch them, it would like burn your hand. We went round the corner and then this smoke started to come through the back of the seats where we were sitting.

"When we were actually going downstairs from upstairs, there was an engine fluid l coming through the back of the bus, like leaking onto the young ones at the back.

"As soon as we got off the bus, it kind of like lit up and went straight up. It was mental because, just thinking that if we didn't stop the bus, then we probably could have died."

Tyler was sending his dad Keith Heaviside videos from the scene.

And while grateful he was safe, Mr Heaviside said he and other parents are concerned and question if the bus should have been on the road in the first place.

He said: "Tyler's mentioned a number of times that the bus is not up to standard. It's breaking down. Things are breaking on the bus all the time."

Asked whether he thought the school or the council were aware of concerns, he said: "What I would have hoped [is] that whoever got the service provider on board would have had risk assessments.

"And I'm hoping the bus company [has] got a strong maintenance record for this bus as well.

"I can't do anything about what happened but I wouldn't like to see this happen in the future because we may be having a completely different conversation."

Hodgson Coaches are contracted by Durham County Council to carry out this school run.

They said: "At Hodgsons, planned maintenance inspections are carried out on our vehicles at least every 42 days. Vehicles are also checked daily by the drivers.

"While we await the outcome of the ongoing investigation to establish the cause of the fire, we wish to reassure parents and passengers that safety is our number one priority.

"Following the incident, we have arranged for additional engineers to be available to assist depot drivers."

Mr Heaviside has also written to the council to express his concerns.

In a statement, the council said: "We are pleased that no-one was injured during this incident and would like to thank and praise the young people who helped to ensure the bus was evacuated quickly.

"We have been in close contact with the coach operator since the incident occurred and are awaiting the outcome of ongoing investigations."

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