Significant rush hour delays are expected on the M25 after a coach caught fire.

Emergency services were called to the fire near Leatherhead at about 16:00 BST on Friday, with the bus parked by the side of the road on the anticlockwise carriageway.

Eye witnesses reported seeing plumes of smoke and a “train of people” being led away from the scene.

A Surrey Fire and Rescue spokesperson confirmed everyone has been accounted for but urged motorists to avoid the area.

All lanes of the M25 near Leatherhead heading anti-clockwise from Junction nine to Junction eight are currently blocked, traffic data suggests.

Becky Slack, who saw the blaze, said: “We were coming on the motorway and saw a lot of smoke.

“We realised there was a bus on fire, and another bus parked in front of it. It looked like a train of people.”