Leeds Police investigation launched as Vicar Lane bus fire deemed ‘vicious’

A busy road in Leeds city center was blocked by fire crews as they rushed to tackle a bus fire earlier this afternoon.

It is reported that at 1.47pm this afternoon, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to a bus fire on Vicar Lane. Two fire crews were sent to douse the blaze as a video posted online showed smoke billowing from the top floor windows of the double-decker bus.

Vicar Lane was blocked from the junction with Harrison Street and outside the Travelodge Hotel while emergency services, including West Yorkshire Police, attended the scene. Police have since confirmed that no one was injured in the fire.

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An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, although it is believed to have been malicious, a police spokesman confirmed. A West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “We were called at 1.47pm today to reports of a bus on fire on Vicar Lane in Leeds.

“We sent two crews, Leeds and Hunslet, who put out the fire, which was on the first floor.” A spokesman for
West Yorkshire Police added: “Today at 1.57pm police were contacted by firefighters attending a fire in a double-decker bus in Vicar Lane in Leeds city centre.

“There were no victims and the fire was extinguished quickly. Firefighters believe the cause is malicious and officers are contacting them to establish the circumstances.”

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