THERE is queueing traffic on a busy road after an incident involving a bus.

A spokesman for the AA warned drivers to expect “severe delays” on the A27 as a result of the incident which happened shortly before 9am.

He said: “One lane is closed and there is queueing traffic due to an earlier bus fire on the A27 eastbound between the A23 London Road and Carden Avenue, at the Hollingbury/Ditchling junction.

The Argus:

“Lane one of two has been closed to assist with recovery of the bus.

“There are delays of nine minutes and these delays are increasing on the A27 eastbound between the A2038 King George VI Avenue, at the Hove turn off, and Coldean Lane, at the Hollingbury/Ditchling junction.

“The average speed is ten mph.”

Marie Sansom, communications manager at Brighton and Hove Buses, said there had not been a bus fire but fire crews had been called after smoke was seen coming from a bus.

She said: "The driver immediately notified our control room after seeing smoke coming from the bus and also called the police and fire brigade as a precaution.

"Brighton and Hove Buses’ engineers attended and found that a piston had blown in the engine.

"There was not a fire and there were no passengers on board."

It was reported that the bus had been cleared and all lanes reopened at 11.10am.

Traffic in the area has eased.