Young musicians with learning difficulties almost did not make it to a sell-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday after their two specially adapted minibuses were destroyed by fire.

Staff at Perseid School in Morden for children with severe and profound learning difficulties were at their wits’ end when they came back from the Easter holidays to discover their only two minibuses were burnt-out shells.

The loss of the buses, which have been specially adapted for wheelchair users, is a disaster for the school, it said.

But King’s College Wimbledon stepped in to save the day, lending the youngsters two of its own vehicles for free so they could be driven to the Royal Albert Hall in time to take to the stage alongside a 1,500 strong troupe.

From yesterday: Stunning: 1,500 young singers and musicians from Merton sell out Royal Albert Hall

Harry Chapman, director of partnerships and outreach at King's College School said he was delighted to help.

The two schools have enjoyed a long relationship which sees King’s boys visit Perseid in Morden every Friday to help out as part of a community engagement initiative.

The programme includes students building items for the playground and organising jazz performances and dance shows.

Mr Chapman said: "It makes community projects worthwhile.

"We are delighted to help.

"We pride ourselves in community engagement and Perseid is a fantastic school."

Because the loaned minibuses were not specially adapted, the school organised taxis for wheelchair users for the Merton Music Foundation’s Music is for Life event which showcased Merton’s young people’s musical talent in front of a 4,000 strong crowd.

On Twitter on Tuesday, the school said: "Disastrous curriculum consequences for pupils this term following bus fire during holiday - insurers investigating.

"Warm thanks KCS Wimbledon for lending your buses today to get our students to Royal Albert Hall to concert they've been working so hard for."

It is not thought that the cause of the fires is suspicious as the police are not investigating what happened.