There was drama in Sheerness town centre this afternoon when a Chalkwell bus burst into flames.

The vehicle came to a standstill in Railway Road between the train station and Kwik-Fit.

A crew from nearby Sheppey fire station was quickly on the scene to tackle the blaze at about 2.50pm.

VIDEO: The bus burst into flames

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Railway Road and Millennium Way were blocked off by the drama.

Eyewitnesses have reported seeing the vehicle "sparking and smoking" as it drove down Marine Parade.

It is understood no passengers were on board at the time and the driver managed to leave the bus uninjured.

The fire is believed to have started at the back of the bus in its engine compartment. It was the 367 service to Warden Point.

Witness Paul Wanstall, of Queensway, Sheerness said: "I was in McDonald's with my mate and he turned around and said 'look at that bus'.

"The flames were so bad and cars were still going round it when it could have exploded at any minute."

Kwik Fit MoT examiner Dave Hughes, 43, of nearby Victory Street, turned hero and helped get the driver out of the blazing bus.

He said: "We could hear plenty of beeping and honking and went outside to see thick black smoke bellowing out from the back of the bus."The driver turned into Railway Road from Millennium Way but didn't seem to be stopping. I ran over, banged on the door and when he opened it I told him he was on fire and to get out! "By then there were big proper yellow and orange flames coming out of the bus." Fire crews wearing breathing gear were soon on the scene and dowsed the flames with water.The back of the bus was gutted by the flames and left blackened and melted.On the other side of the road Heather Kingfisher had been in McDonald's when she looked up and saw thick black smoke and flames. She said: "I came outside but by then the bus was well alight."

Chalkwell commerical director Roland Eglinton: "We are trying to find out what happened, obviously it's too early to say.

"We will be looking at CCTV from the bus and we'll get to the bottom of it. As we understand there were no people on the bus."

A police spokesman said: "We were called at 2.44pm to a report of a bus on fire in Railway Road, Sheerness.

"Officers were in attendance to manage the traffic and a road closure was in place. Motorists were advised to expect delays and avoid the area if possible."

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "Firefighters dealt with a fire on a single-decker bus.

"Crews wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel and a fog spike to tackle the blaze."