A FLEET of buses subjected to safety checks following a devastating fire will remain in their depot until early next week, the company has announced.

First York is assessing the engines and batteries of its electronic range after one of the 12 Optare-manufactured vehicles burst into flames on Thursday while it was parked at a bus stop in The Stonebow.

The company initially decided it would continue to operate the routes provided by its eco-friendly vehicles, however, after they returned to their depot on Thursday evening, a decision was made to take them off the streets.

A spokesman for First York said: "We expect the checks to take a few days but want to have the electronic buses back early next week.

"Safety has to be the priority and these are additional checks as a temporary measure.

"We are doing double checks around the engine area and battery.

"They are in our depot now and will be back in service once they have been checked."

The fire broke out in the bus's engine compartment at noon on Thursday and saw the vehicle burst into flames, causing nearby office workers to evacuate.

Windows were blown out and the rear of the bus was destroyed in the blaze.

Fire fighters and police were sent to the scene and The Stonebow was closed for two hours while the incident was cleared.

However, First York say it was an isolated incident and the manufacturer has not reported any other faults on similar buses across Europe.

The spokesman added: "We have had no issues with six electronic buses we have run over the last year, or the other five we have introduced at Monks Cross.

"This was an isolated incident but we want to get through these checks to make sure that was the case.

"The safety procedures on the vehicle did work and the warning system did alert the driver there was a thermal incident at the rear of the bus."