As part of the camp we organised a day out to Weymouth and over 200 people came, travelling on three coaches,' the Dorset Echo quoted Buar as saying.

Another woman travelling in the coach said the evacuees were subjected to racist abuse by passing motorists as they stood on the hard shoulder of the highway, wrapped in foil blankets and waiting for another coach to collect them.

Inderjeet Kaur told BBC Television News that some motorists stopped to look and hurl racist abuse.

'They were pointing saying 'go back to the burning bus', and sticking their fingers out,' she said.

It took 25 firefighters 90 minutes to put out the blaze, and a spokesman for coach operators said an investigation would be carried out into the cause of fire.

Spokesman Christopher Nice said: 'The quick thinking and professionalism shown by our driver enabled all of the 66 passengers onboard to be promptly evacuated from the vehicle and led to a safe location.'