COMMUTERS were stuck in long delays on the M40 yesterday morning after a coach caught fire.

No one was hurt in the blaze, which is believed to have been caused by a mechanical fault as the vehicle travelled north.

Smoke billowed across to the southbound carriageway, closing the motorway both ways between junction 6 and junction 8a for Oxford.

Oliver Jobson, who took a picture, right, as he drove past, said: “You couldn’t tell (which coach company) it belonged to.

“It was completely gutted and engulfed in flames.”

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service was called at 5.58am and sent three fire engines to the scene.

South Central Ambulance Service also sent an ambulance and a rapid response vehicle. They treated a man in his 50s at the scene but he did not require hospital treatment.

The southbound carriageway reopened at 7.10am and the northbound 25 minutes later but there were still significant delays both ways at rush hour.

There was only a driver on board the coach and no other vehicle was involved.

An Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue spokeswoman said: “One coach was severely damaged by fire but no one was hurt.”