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| Summercourt fire destroys 35 Western Greyhound fleet buses | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A fire at a bus depot in Cornwall has destroyed 35 buses - a third of the Western Greyhound firm's fleet. | A fire at a bus depot in Cornwall has destroyed 35 buses - a third of the Western Greyhound firm's fleet. |
| The fire in Summercourt, near Newquay, broke out at about 01:00 BST. | The fire in Summercourt, near Newquay, broke out at about 01:00 BST. |
| The blaze - the cause is not yet known - is expected to cause "significant disruption" to services in mid-Cornwall, including school buses. | |
| Mark Howarth from Western Greyhound said: "A lot of hard work has gone into Western Greyhound and it's awful to see it going up in smoke." | Mark Howarth from Western Greyhound said: "A lot of hard work has gone into Western Greyhound and it's awful to see it going up in smoke." |
| The burnt-out buses included two brand new vehicles which cost more than £100,000 each, and four of Truro's six park-and-ride buses. | |
| One bus was damaged but is "repairable". | One bus was damaged but is "repairable". |
| Significant disruption | Significant disruption |
| Mr Howarth, the company's managing director, told BBC Radio Cornwall: "I could just see flames leaping in the air and, when I arrived, all the buses at the bottom of the yard were completely ablaze. | Mr Howarth, the company's managing director, told BBC Radio Cornwall: "I could just see flames leaping in the air and, when I arrived, all the buses at the bottom of the yard were completely ablaze. |
| "The services will be significantly disrupted but we will run as much of them as we can." | "The services will be significantly disrupted but we will run as much of them as we can." |
| He added: "There will be work for the drivers tomorrow." | He added: "There will be work for the drivers tomorrow." |
| Incident Commander Guy Herrington, from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Because of the flammable liquids and materials in the buses, the fire took hold very quickly. | Incident Commander Guy Herrington, from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Because of the flammable liquids and materials in the buses, the fire took hold very quickly. |
| "It takes very little for fire to spread from one vehicle to another but to tackle this number of vehicles in one go is rare." | "It takes very little for fire to spread from one vehicle to another but to tackle this number of vehicles in one go is rare." |
| The fire service said more than 60 firefighters tackled the blaze, and strong winds "significantly fanned the flames". | The fire service said more than 60 firefighters tackled the blaze, and strong winds "significantly fanned the flames". |
| Neighbour Kelly Broderick said the winds meant "you couldn't tell which way it was going to go". | Neighbour Kelly Broderick said the winds meant "you couldn't tell which way it was going to go". |
| She said: "It was big, there were explosions; it was terrifying, to be honest." | She said: "It was big, there were explosions; it was terrifying, to be honest." |
| Water from a swimming pool at a nearby house was used by fire crews fighting the blaze. | Water from a swimming pool at a nearby house was used by fire crews fighting the blaze. |
| In Cornwall about a third of services are not operating or have been delayed, although services are running normally in Devon. | In Cornwall about a third of services are not operating or have been delayed, although services are running normally in Devon. |
| Western Greyhound has been operating buses in both counties since 1998. | Western Greyhound has been operating buses in both counties since 1998. |
| It describes itself as a "locally based, family-run business". | It describes itself as a "locally based, family-run business". |
| There was no damage to the depot's offices or workshops, and there were no reports of any injuries. | There was no damage to the depot's offices or workshops, and there were no reports of any injuries. |
| The cause of the fire is being jointly investigated by Devon and Cornwall Police and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service. | The cause of the fire is being jointly investigated by Devon and Cornwall Police and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service. |
| Investigators said they were keeping an "open mind" as to how it started. | Investigators said they were keeping an "open mind" as to how it started. |