Pupils have reportedly been evacuated from a school bus travelling between Powys villages after it caught fire.

Photos online show a Tanat Valley bus, which has been confirmed was carrying pupils to school in Bishop's Castle, on fire this morning (August 4) in a village near Newtown.

A pillar of smoke could be seen from several miles away, and was visible to motorists driving on Middletown Hill near Welshpool.

A post online said the A489 through Kerry was blocked because the Bishop's Castle college bus had caught fire, but that all children were safe and had been evacuated into the village gall car park.

The fire has seen emergency services at the scene to tackle the fire, which is between Kerry and Sarn, leading to the road being blocked by the zebra crossing.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed that the Newtown crew is at the scene and dealing with the situation. 

The Kerry to Newtown road is open, however.

Traffic monitoring service Inrix says: "A489 both ways closed, queueing traffic due to police incident from the Common Road to the Gilfach Lane."

A spokesperson for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "At 8:11am on Wednesday, September 4, crews from Newtown Station attended an incident near Kerry in Powys.

"On arrival, crews were confronted with a vehicle fire involving a 70-seater coach. All 25 children were safely evacuated immediately by the driver and taken to a safe location.

"Crews used a hose reel jet and a thermal imaging camera to extinguish the fire in engine bay.

"Dyfed Powys Police were in attendance for recovery as were Powys County Council for traffic management.

"The Fire Service crew left the scene at 8:55am."

The college have been contacted for comment.