A HERO night watchman saved two buses worth £160,000 from a fire which destroyed 15 other vehicles at a depot.

Mark Lewis was on duty on Tuesday night when the fire started at the Martin Perry yard.

He grabbed the keys to the two most expensive buses and moved them to safety as flames engulfed the other vehicles.

"He just hopped in and got them to safety, he is a real hero," said manager Tony Harris.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service was called to the blaze in the Linton Trading Estate, Bromyard, at 11.27pm.

Fifteen buses were destroyed in the fire, 11 of which were for sale and out of service, and the rest were being used for school runs and other services.

Despite the loss, services were not affected yesterday.

"We have managed to run every service and every school bus we have got," Mr Harris said.

"We picked a coach up this morning at 3am so the Hereford Sixth Form College service would run."

The 11 buses for sale were not insured and as a result the company has lost £30,000.

"The service buses were insured but the buses for sale were not - to insure them when they are not going anywhere was not worth it," Mr Harris said. "It is a big loss."

The blaze was stopped from spreading to another part of the yard by a wall built after a previous fire.

"We had a fire about 10 years ago and certain recommendations were made at the time which proved invaluable," Mr Harris said.

"We have got another yard behind us and we built a 10ft concrete wall the full length of the yard. Because of that it stopped the flames going back into the other part of the yard where buses are being broken down."

The cause of the fire is still unexplained and West Mercia Constabulary along with the fire service have been conducting investigations.

A spokesman for the police said: "We are conducting house-to-house enquires in the area and looking at CCTV footage to try to determine if there is anything suspicious about the nature of the fire."

If anyone has any information about the incident they are asked to contact Bromyard police on 08457 444 888.