The members of Pudsey Diamonds were on their way to a dance contest in Liverpool when a tyre suddenly burst.

It later emerged two tyres had been slashed.

Today troupe leaders condemned the vandals and said the majorettes could have been seriously injured or worse if had the coach been travelling at speed.

Fundraising committee member Tracey Seddon, whose three children were on the packed bus on Sunday, said: "We were lucky the tyre exploded as we were still picking up in Leeds.

"If we had been on the M62 at 70mph who knows what might have happened. They would have been injured – or even worse."

The coach, which belongs to the team, was picking up across west Leeds when the tyre blew out in Swinnow.

Tracey, 38, was on the vehicle with sons Steven, 15, and Kenan, eight, and daughter, Kirstyn, 10. Both Kirstyn and Kenan are in the majorettes.

Tracey, of Broadlea Grove, Bramley, said: "I don't know why anyone would do this to us. There is a sign in the window of the coach saying who we are.

"Whoever did this needs to know how dangerous it is and what the consequences could have been."

The team was left with a £350 bill to replace the two tyres. The cash had been raised when the youngsters staged a day-long bag-pack at a local supermarket.

It is not the first time the bus has been targeted – windows have been smashed, too.

The coach is usually stored in a mill in Bramley but on Saturday night had been left behind the Co-op on Swinnow Lane so the team could make an early start.

Police are investigating and examining whether CCTV cameras at the Co-op recorded the offenders.