THE driver of a school bus which ploughed into a cottage has been hailed a hero for helping his young passengers despite his own injuries.

Geoffrey Mays, 22, led the shocked and crying children off the wrecked vehicle to safety even though he was bleeding heavily from cuts to his face.

Mr Mays helped some of them into neighbour Michael Fitch's home and comforted them as they waited for medical help.

Freelance cameraman Mr Fitch, 57, who made them all hot drinks, said: "I think the driver is a bit of a hero.

"He helped get children off the bus very quickly before anyone else came along to lend a hand.

"He was the first one through our door with some of the kids and he should be congratulated."

PC Nigel Bartlett, a Horsham traffic officer who was at the scene of the crash on the A283 London Road, north of Petworth, said: "Everyone was very impressed by Mr Mays' actions at the scene and by the way he looked after the children in spite of being injured himself.

"He remained calm and removed the children from the bus to a safe place."

Mr Mays, two other adults on board and all 23 children were taken to St Richard's Hospital, Chichester, after the crash which happened in icy conditions yesterday morning.

Mr Mays, of Somerset Road, East Preston, near Littlehampton, is now said to be stable though he is expected to remain in hospital for several days.

Barry Newell, who helped treat the youngsters, said: "Several told how the driver assisted them and got them all off the bus and reassured them, despite his wounds."

Mr Newell, acting clinical nurse manager at St Richard's, said many of the children were in tears when they arrived in a fleet of ambulances.

Aplaygroup leader and paediatric counsellor were on hand to comfort the children, who were treated for cuts, bruises and shock.

Mr Newell said there were emotional scenes as parents arrived at the hospital.

He said: "There was obviously tremendous relief when the parents arrived and found that their children had not been seriously injured."

Within four hours all the children had been allowed home after being given drinks and biscuits. The two other adults on the bus were also released.

Police think it happened when a woman driving a Ford Escort skidded on ice and was in collision with the 60-seater single-decker bus.

Maryanne Goodall, 33, of High Street, Petworth, who had to be cut from the wreckage, was flown to St Richard's by police helicopter. She is now also stable in hospital.

The bus careered off the road and smashed into Michael Fitch's Peugeot, which was parked in his drive, before smashing into his neighbour's cottage.

Mr Fitch, added: "I think the fact that the bus hit my car first helped to reduce the impact when it hit the house."

He said the road was a notorious blackspot and added: "We have only been here a short while but we are amazed how dangerous it is."

The bus crashed into a cottage rented by Julie Wheeler and her husband Andrew.

Mrs Wheeler, 31, was returning home after taking her children, Ben, nine, and Khyer, six, to Petworth Primary School when she saw the bus embedded in her home.

She said: "I could not believe my eyes. I was caught up in the traffic that was caused by the accident but didn't know it was my house that was hit. Luckily the damage is not that bad."

Rory Harte, 29, who lives next door to the damaged house with wife Amy, 27, could only watch in horror as the bus slid towards the cottages.

He said: "There did not seem to be anything the driver could do. Some of the kids were crying, others were in shock."

Pupils at Herbert Shiner School were told about the accident in a hastily-arranged meeting in the school hall.

Most of the children on the bus were ten to 13-year-olds on their way in from Northchapel village.

Mike Mattinson, headmaster at the 225-pupil school, said: "We called all the parents to tell them what had happened and we did our very best to reassure them.

"We then got all the pupils together in the hall and told them there had been an accident and there were no serious injuries."

Building control experts from West Sussex County Council inspected the damaged house yesterday to see if there was any structural damage and are to carry out a full investigation.

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