A TEENAGE girl has spoken of her terror after a fire broke out on a bus taking her home from school.

Stephanie Ringham was one of up to 60 children from Farmor's School, Fairford, who were evacuated from the Stagecoach bus while they were on their way home to Swindon.

The driver, who has not been named, noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment on Monday afternoon, pulled over and put out the flames with an extinguisher.

Stephanie, 13, who eventually returned home on a second bus, described how pupils started screaming when they spotted smoke coming from the vehicle.

"When we got on it was quite smoky but people stayed on there and we went down the road," she said.

"After ten minutes the bus started shaking really hard and it looked like the bus driver was struggling to control it. It got quite serious and I was really scared. People started screaming and as soon as the bus stopped we all rushed to get off."

Bosses at Stagecoach say they have never had a fire on their buses before and are satisfied their fleet of vehicles is safe.

But the fire has caused concern among Stephanie's parents Mark, 36, and Deborah, 34, who believe their child's life was put at risk.

"We are livid and we want a guarantee that our children will travel on a safe bus that we are paying for," she said.

The couple, of Abbey Meads, whose son Jamie, 15, also uses the buses but is on work experience, have lodged an official complaint.

Stagecoach's engineering director Peter Sheldon said the cause of the fire was being investigated at the company's depot in Eastcott Road in Old Town, Swindon.

Ben Payne