An electric double-decker bus caught fire in south-west London during the Thursday morning rush hour.

Police said emergency services were called shortly after 7am. No injuries have been reported, but people have been told to avoid the area.

Flames engulfed the back of the bus, which was on its usual route from Mitcham to Raynes Park, with thick grey smoke billowing out. The back windows on the upper deck were completely destroyed.

Max Pashley, a local resident, told City AM: “We heard a huge bang. We were terrified.”

Roderick Cameron shared a photo of the road filled with smoke on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: “The fumes are awful. Not what we expect to see on the school run.”

The 200 bus is one of Go Ahead London’s fully electric bus routes, and was introduced in 2021. At the time, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said the buses would “make a real difference cleaning up the air in busy parts of central London and are another step along the way to making all London’s buses zero emission by 2037”.

Merton Police issued a statement urging people to “avoid the area of Wimbledon Hill Road this morning”, adding: “There will be congestion as the road is blocked off in both north and southbound directions.”

Tom Cunnington, Transport for London’s head of buses business development, said: “Safety is our top priority and we are working with the operator, London General, and the bus manufacturer, Switch, to investigate what happened. 

“The bus was quickly evacuated, and there are no reported injuries.”