Passengers were rapidly evacuated from a bus this afternoon after its engine caught on fire.

The 152 bus had just offloaded about twenty schoolchildren in Lewis Road, close to the Mitcham ASDA, when its rear started smoking.

The incident follows a furious blaze on a 157 bus in Wallington which was engulfed in flames on Tuesday with a tyre exploding.

Firefighters were called to the small blaze in Mitcham just before 12.30pm and closed part of Western Road.

VIDEO: Wallington bus explosion eyewitness - "The rear tyre exploded, like a bomb going off"

Your Local Guardian:

Tuersday's bus fire in Wallington saw a tyre explode

A fire officer said it was caused by an electrical fault in the engine bay which caused some plastic to melt and catch fire at the rear of the bus.

Firefighters extinguished the flames in seven minutes and the road was re-opened. 

An elderly resident, who was taken off the bus, said: “I had been sitting on the bus for two minutes when the bus driver said, ‘everybody get off’.

“I saw smoke and fire at the back of the bus. I was so scared, I came home to recover from the shock."

A London Fire Brigade spokeswoman said she understood it was a small fire.

No-one is believed to have been injured.

Did you see the fire? Send your pictures to louisa.clarence@london.newsquest.co.uk, or call 020 8722 6335.