An Inverness sightseeing bus burst into flames just minutes before it was due to pick up its first passengers of the day.
Only the driver was on board when the double-decker started smoking then caught fire at about 9.15am near Torvean Golf Club.
Flames ripped through the 60-seater coach reducing it to a shell within 40 minutes of the fire starting.
There were no passengers on board at the time as the vehicle was coming from the Dochgarroch depot.
The driver was able to stop, get off the vehicle safely and was later praised by emergency services for the way he handled the situation.
The busy A82 road was closed from the start of the incident but was fully reopened just after 4pm, a diversion had been in place through Kinmylies followed by traffic lights.
Emergency teams were called at 9.16am and the fire service deployed three appliances, two from Inverness and a third from Drumnadrochit.
Inverness Station Commander Miles Stubbs said: “When we arrived the bus was fully developed in fire, a good going fire.
“The main priorities were to close the road network as quickly as possible and confirm there were no passengers or any other persons involved. So that was established very, very quickly.”
Thick smoke engulfed the two breathing apparatus teams as they worked to suppress the flames and eventually bringing it under control around 10.20am.
Mr Stubbs added: “We have used a mixture of delivery types of hose to knock the fire back. And we are now, due to the potential of the fire reigniting, going to apply foam and basically that is where we are with the incident.”
A water carrier tanker with 14,000 litres which was “expended” then refilled before foam was used.
Freda Newton, managing director of City Sightseeing Inverness, said: “We can confirm there was a fire on a City Sightseeing bus while it was travelling on the A82 towards Inverness this morning.
“There were no passengers on board and the driver disembarked unharmed. The Fire Service and Police arrived at the scene swiftly. We are now investigating the cause.
“We apologise to our customers and the local community for any inconvenience caused and thank the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service for the speed of their response.”