Kings of Leon O2 gig postponed after tour bus fire

Both coaches involved in the fire were burnt out

A concert by Kings of Leon has been postponed after a fire on one of their tour buses at The O2 arena in London.

The blaze began on the coach before spreading to another tour bus in the loading bay of the venue in Greenwich.

About 60 firefighters were at the scene on Tuesday morning and ambulance crews treated six people for smoke inhalation.

An O2 spokesman said the fire meant there was not enough time to rig the arena for the sell-out concert.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the fire had not affected seating or the stage area.

He said both coaches had been completely burnt out.

LFB station manager Sally Cartwright, who is at the scene, said: "Our crews did a fantastic job, especially given the levels of smoke down here which has led to quite challenging conditions.

"The O2's sprinkler system successfully activated and this also helped firefighters bring the blaze swiftly under control."

The concert had sold out

A spokeswoman for The O2 said: "Unfortunately, due to this morning's fire on board one of the tour buses at The O2, tonight's Kings of Leon concert will now be postponed.

"Whilst there is no damage to The O2 there is now insufficient time to rig the arena for tonight's performance.

"Whilst a lot of people have been working very hard and every attempt was made to go ahead with tonight's show, thorough assessments had to be carried out as a matter of procedure before any decision could be made as to whether the show could go ahead.

"Unfortunately, once the assessments were completed in full, there was not enough time to set up the show for tonight's performance."

She added a new date for the concert would be announced soon.

Tickets to see the American rock band, whose hit single Sex On Fire was number one for three weeks in 2008, had sold out "months ago", a Kings of Leon spokesman said.