Firefighters were called to a bus blaze in a town centre.

Flames and plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the Arriva vehicle near Chatham Waterfront Bus Station this morning (May 31).

It is understood firefighters arrived at the scene at around 11.30am.

Two fire engines attended, and crews used firefighting foam to extinguish the flames.

One passenger, who was onboard at the time of the blaze, believes it was due to the engine overheating.

Curtis Gibson told KentOnline: “The bus driver was shouting to tell us to get out but I was confused because I’m deaf but I saw people were running out of the bus then I saw the smoke.

“I run out of the bus then I walked about 15/20 steps away from the bus. It exploded then the fire spread quickly and two fire engines came fast.”

Another witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I saw a plume of smoke from a distance, and as I was walking through the bus station, I noticed there were huge flames.

“A crowd of people were taking photos and pretty quickly, a fire engine arrived

“The engine at the back of the bus was on fire and put out fairly fast.”

The road was closed while firefighters tackled the flames and traffic had tailed back to Dock Road.

The Brook Theatre was also closed, and drivers were unable to get out of the Pentagon Car Park.

The fire was put out by 12.16pm.

There are no injuries reported and the cause is unknown.