A teenager who went to the aid of a bus driver impaled in a horror smash has been praised for his actions.

A metal rod had speared the 23-year-old driver’s leg, pinning him to his seat, after the double-decker smashed into railings on Boxing Day.

Bradford College student Lewis Papworth, 16, stepped in to help stem the flow of blood and guided the emergency services to the scene of the crash, in Manchester Road, Bradford.

But modest Lewis, of Wibsey, said he did not want to be hailed a hero.

Lewis said he had been taking the bus with girlfriend Jessica Peattie, 17, to go shopping. They were sitting on the top deck when the crash happened.

Lewis said the bus smashed into the central reservation before veering over to the other side of the road into cars. He said it felt like “something had picked the bus up and thrown it about”.

The teenager said as the passengers got off the bus, he went to speak to the driver, and saw a pool of blood.

He said: “I could see this pole coming from the front of the bus, going straight through his leg and into the back of the seat.” Lewis said while the bus had been busy, no other passengers appeared to be helping the driver. He said instead, many had got off the bus and were taking photographs of the scene on smartphones.

He said: “I shouted to everyone, ‘Are you getting an ambulance or what?’ They were all taking pictures.”

Lewis said Jessica called 999 and passed him the phone so he could speak to the operator, who told him to find a cloth and use it to put pressure on the wound.

He said: “The driver’s main concern was the passengers. He kept asking me, ‘How are the passengers?’ I just told him, ‘Listen, concentrate on yourself!’”

A spokesman for First Buses said the firm would be getting in touch with Lewis to thank him for what he did.

He said: “We’d like to pass on our own thanks to him.”

Jessica, of Wakefield, also praised the way Lewis, whose dad is a firefighter, dealt with the situation.

She said: “He was really helpful, he just handled it really well. He wasn’t panicking, he was just helping him.”

The First spokesman said yesterday that the driver, who has not been named, remained in a stable condition in hospital.

Eight other people were injured in the accident and the cause remains under investigation.