A school trip turned into a nightmare for pupils when the bus they were travelling on caught on fire.

Thirty-one youngsters had to be evacuated from the coach on the A169 in the middle of the North Yorkshire Moors at around 5pm on Tuesday July 12.

The fire crew from RAF Fylingdales responded to the incident quickly and were first on the scene to subdue the blaze.

The fire itself was the result of a failed pump that leaked diesel into the engine compartment and caught fire.

The four-man RAF fire crew raced to the scene, and using specialist breathing apparatus, were able to extinguish the fire.

RAF Fylingdales Fire Crew Watch Manager Baz Gargedt said: “We were just relieved to be able to get to the fire so quickly.

“Our guys acted, as always, swiftly and calmly and thankfully there were no injuries."

Fire Crews from Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay subsequently attended the incident and were able to resume control whilst the crew from RAF Fylingdales were able to go back to their primary mission of protecting the iconic RADAR on the North York Moors.

RAF Fylingdales has a manned 24-hour Fire Station on site to protect the RADAR.

On occasions like this the Station is able to work with local services.

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Rev’d Paul Burnett, Watch Manager at Whitby Fire Station said: “Many thanks to our RAF fire service colleagues for reacting so quickly to what was a quickly escalating fire with many young people on the roadside.

“Their additional support led to a quick conclusion of the incident.

“We occasionally train together, and this close working relationship pays dividends at times such as this.”

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