LATEST NEWS: Mystery surrounds cause of huge city centre bus fire

WITNESSES have been giving their accounts after a bus burst into flames - with one onlooker saying "I couldn't believe my eyes."

It has also emerged that one bystander stepped in to alert the driver, while another onlooker said a disabled man was initially left stranded next to the burning vehicle.

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) was called to reports of a large vehicle on fire in Broadway, in Bradford city centre, at 3.04pm on Monday.

Three crews – two from Bradford and one from Shipley – rushed to the scene.

Firefighters were met with a scene described like that from a TV show, according to one woman who was working in a nearby building but wished to remain anonymous.

The top section of the double-decker bus had turned into a raging fireball, next to a bus stop and Britannia House, where Bradford Council’s customer services is housed.

Blaise Katchunga, 26, of Holme Wood was waiting for the 607 bus with his partner as a changeover of drivers was underway when he saw smoke emerging from the top of the double-decker.

He said: “It was quite a busy day, many people were waiting for the bus, the queue was long and I noticed smoke coming out the window upstairs.”

The 26-year-old soon realised a bigger problem was afoot and stepped in to help.

Mr Katchunga said: “I thought someone was vaping but then black smoke came out, then I realised something was wrong.

“I rushed to the drive and alerted him about the smoke, however he thought I forgot something upstairs but I kept on knocking on the bus door and told him he needs to come out, the bus is on fire.”

Panic ensued as the bus burst into flames, after around five to seven minutes of thick, black smoke billowing from the vehicle, according to Mr Katchunga.

He said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes but was happy at least the driver was alert because he wasn’t aware of the fire.”

The woman working nearby was evacuated from her building and began shouting for a man who was sat in the bus stop – who turned out to be disabled - to move clear.

She raised concerns about the reaction of people to the fire, who seemed “completely oblivious to the dangers, more bothered about videos”, while she was focused on getting people safe amid worries the bus could blow or the fire may spread to neighbouring buildings.

The woman said: “I’ve never seen anything like it, it’s something you see on TV not outside in the street.”

Crews managed to extinguish the blaze by around 3.45pm and there were no injuries reported, with no passengers on board, according to a spokesperson for First West Yorkshire.

The bus company has launched an investigation into the fire, which will include reviewing CCTV footage.