An ambulance worker today spoke of his horror after saving a terrified youngster as a "pack" of pupils chased him from a Bradford school.

Tony Green pulled the 12-year-old Queensbury School student into his ambulance after seeing the frightened boy chased out of the gates and along Deanstones Lane in Queensbury.

Mr Green described the incident - involving up to 100 pupils - as one of the most frightening he has seen.

"It was like a pack of hounds hunting a fox; it was terrifying," he said.

"I could see fear in the boy's eyes and I opened the door and pulled him inside without him having to say a word. If we hadn't been there who knows what would have happened?

"It was unbelievable and even when he was in the ambulance the children surrounded the vehicle and were banging on the doors and trying to rock the vehicle. They were shouting and we had to literally drive through the crowds to get him away.

"We tried to calm him down in the ambulance and we took him home."

A school spokesman said head-teacher Mrs Shipton did not want to comment in detail but said a crowd of youngsters ran out of school on Friday afternoon and the school was investigating the incident.

"But we are not convinced the incident was the result of bullying. There is no evidence that the boy was being bullied," she said.

Mr Green, an operational supervisor with Halifax ambulance service, said he was on stand-by in Queensbury when the incident happened at lunch time on Friday.

"We asked him a few questions and he said he had been bullied for several months," said Mr Green.

After taking the uninjured boy home, Mr Green went back to the school to report the incident to the head teacher.

The boy's father, who did not want to be named, said he was now keeping his son, who is in Year Eight, off school after months of alleged bullying by a gang and was looking for a place at another school.

"Four boys chased him through the playground and they were joined by a huge crowd of students who chased him down the road," he said.

"There's no way he's going back to that school again and we know for a fact he was being bullied."

He said he had photographs of his son's injuries from previous incidents, including one alleged attack when he was punched in the face. Police confirmed they are investigating an allegation of assault on November 16.

In August, the Telegraph & Argus reported how bullying was the single biggest reason why youngsters contact the support charity Childline and the Yorkshire region saw a 33 per cent increase in calls from worried children over a year. Around half the children who call about bullying experience name-calling, being punched, pushed and kicked around.

Councillor Michael Walls, (Con, Queensbury) a governor at the school, said he understood around 100 children were involved. After an altercation and the lad running off, the rest followed. He said it was not thought to be bullying but a "minor incident which happens in school".

"The school probably has a better record than some others over bullying. It is discussed regularly by the governors. Our stance is a tough one and it will not be tolerated."

Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe, said all reported bullying had to be taken seriously.

He said: "I would expect the school to investigate thoroughly. It is part of bringing bullying to the fore."