A HUGE bus fire on the Handy Cross roundabout forced the closure of the A404 on Saturday.

An out-of-service Arriva bus was heading back to High Wycombe from Henley when it caught fire at around 8.10pm, spitting flames more than 20ft into the air.

The vehicle was not carrying passengers at the time and the bus driver escaped unharmed.

Firefighters spent more than 90 minutes tackling the blaze, which closed the northbound carriageway of the A404 between Marlow and Handy Cross.

Police re-opened most of the carriageway at 9.45pm but the lane in which the bus caught fire remains closed.

The Highways Agency and Transport for Buckinghamshire are currently at the scene carrying out repairs to the lane which was badly damaged in the fire.

Watch manager Andy Ward from High Wycombe fire station said: “It looks like an electrical fault caused the fire.

“The bus driver smelt the smoke, he pulled over on the roundabout, switched off the vehicle, looked at the engine and it was well alight. He was fine, he took it all in his stride.”

Marlow Bottom resident Mark Chapman was driving home up Marlow Hill when he saw the billowing smoke at around 8.30pm. He sent in these dramatic photos.

He said: “It was pretty spectacular. We were driving home from the High Wycombe direction and as we came up Marlow Hill we saw the smoke but not the fire.

“As we drove up to the roundabout we then saw the bus, with flames shooting up about 20ft or more into the air.

“The firefighters and police had just got onto the scene and were closing the roads off.

“We stopped the car and I spoke briefly to the driver, he said to me that he thought the bus was overheating.

"He said he stopped the bus to have a look and the next minute it was up in flames."

“The bus didn't have any passengers on it, just the driver and he was fine. I don't think he could quite believe it.”