Coach passengers were forced to evacuate their bus after it caught fire on a busy dual carriageway.

The A23 at Bolney was still closed northbound until late last night causing lengthy tailbacks.

None of the 36 passengers on board was injured but one man was treated by paramedics after having an epileptic fit, believed to have been brought on by shock.

The fire on the 46-seat coach was believed to have been started by a mechanical fault.

A spokesman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said the fire took hold as the coach pulled into a layby and passengers began to get out.Crews from Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Crawley and Henfield had the blaze under control within an hour but the coach was destroyed. Passengers had to wait for two hours for a rplacement bus.

The fire spread to undergrowth and hedges and the smoke could be seen for miles around. Witness Maria Bishop, 24, a student from Bolney, near Haywards Heath, said: "There was black smoke everywhere, it was getting dark.

"Through the trees I could see flames coming from the road but couldnt tell exactly what was happening."