Investigations are continuing a week on from a dramatic school bus fire near Port of Menteith which forced pupils to be evacuated.
The double decker service was ferrying kids travelling back from McLaren High in Callnader to Aberfoyle when it caught fire on a stretch of the A81 near the village last Wednesday.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene as the students were quickly rushed out of the bus as smoke continued to billow from the rear of the vehicle.
There were no injuries reported from the fire - and a probe was quickly launched between Stirling Council and the bus operators Carrs Loch Lomond to determine the cause of the blaze.
A Stirling Council spokesman confirmed to the Observer yesterday (Thursday) that the investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
Trossachs and Teith councillor Gene Maxwell brought the issue up at a meeting of Stirling Council last week and said the bus was also acting as a replacement service for a broken down bus on the same route the previous day.
Meanwhile, Stirling MSP Evelyn Tweed expressed relief over the lack of injuries as a result of the incident - and also acknowledged the concerns of parents caught up in the bus fire about the safety of school buses on the route.
Ms Tweed said: “I want to thank the emergency services for acting quickly to extinguish the blaze and staff at Port of Menteith Primary School for supporting pupils and assisting them to get home safely. Pupils and parents will rightly be anxious about ensuring that school buses are safe so I am pleased that Stirling Council are keen to work with the coach provider to establish what happened.
“I look forward to hearing the outcome of the council’s investigations and any necessary steps that need to be taken to ensure all school transport is safe across Stirling.”
