A video has captured the shock moment a Birmingham bus was torn apart by massive flames.

Footage posted online shows the stationary single decker in the middle of a road in the Chelmsley Wood area of Birmingham today after thick flames started erupting from the inside. According to local emergency services, the single decker had caught “well alight” this afternoon, with firefighters and police called to the scene in Chelmsley Circle at around 1.45pm.

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The West Midlands Fire Service said two trucks were sent to combat the blaze, with personnel forced to don breathing apparatus after arriving at the scene. The service said in a statement that the bus had caught alight next to a shopping centre in the area, adding that no one was trapped inside at the time.

Shock footage posted on social media shows people crowding at a nearby bus stop, waiting in the sun while watching the bus wreckage burn. Additional pictures posted from the area appear to show the aftermath, with the bus frame barely standing on top of a sodden road.

The incident has attracted a mix of reactions from the public, with several people commenting on the video after it was posted on X, formerly Twitter. One onlooker wrote: “B****y hell. Hope everyone is ok.” Some were more content to joke about the fire, with one saying: “Oi, no smoking on the top deck.”

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