FIRECREWS feared vagrants sheltering from the morning cold could have died in an arson attack on a bus depot.

They arrived at the First site, in Padmore Street, Lowesmoor, Worcester, to find one derelict bus and one training bus ablaze.

A call to the emergency services by a passer-by at 5.30am raised fears that three people could have been sheltering in the buses, escaping the early Sunday morning chill.

Police confirmed a man had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage through arson. It is estimated it will cost £100,000 to replace the training bus.

Teams wearing breathing apparatus searched the smoke-filled vehicles and checked neighbouring buses, parked next to the depot's perimeter fencing, to make sure no one had broken in.

After a thorough search of the area, the all-clear was given, but firefighters spent nearly an hour on site making sure everything was safe.

"The fire was spreading rapidly between the buses, because they were closely parked together," said Alec Mackie, spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade.

"The caller gave us the clue that people may have been trapped in the vehicles, so crews thought someone may have broken into the buses, using them as a temporary shelter.

"We assumed people could have been trapped in there or could have even died. I'm pleased to say we found no one."

A spokesman for First said that, although buses on the site had suffered from vandals breaking windows in the past, it was the first fire dealt with on site.