AROUND 150 railway passengers had to be rescued by bus after a large grass fire brought services to a halt.

The grass fire, which is near the Vale of Rheidol Falls stop, has led to smoke being visible in Aberystwyth with fire appliances being sent to battle the blaze.

A spokesperson for the Vale of Rheidol Railway said that trains had been stopped and coaches were being sent to transport passengers back to Aberystwyth.

She said: “We’re not running any trains at the moment. We’ve got about 150 passengers stuck at Devil’s Bridge and have sent coaches to go and pick them up.”

Firefighters were taken by the Vale of Rheidol's Permaquip engine to the scene of the blaze, given its inaccessible location.

Nia Gore, who took a picture of the smoke coming from the fire from her home near Capel Dewi, said the fire was below the road between Pisgah and Devil’s Bridge, near the turning for Cwm Rheidol, with smoke clearly visible from miles away.

A fire brigade spokesperson said: "Crews from Aberystwyth are currently in attendance of a grass fire in the Cwm Rheidol area.

"They were called at 11.29am and the incident is currently ongoing."