A RELIEVED youngster has praised a driver’s quick thinking after his bus skidded across a patch of ice and crashed into a ditch.

Leon Nash, 15, was among the children catching their usual bus to school yesterday morning.

While negotiating a bend close to Hardy’s Green, near Colchester, the bus skidded over a patch of unseen ice.

Leon, who is head boy at The Stanway School, said the crash “could have been much worse”.

“Although the driver lost control, he did a remarkable job of ensuring as little damage as possible occurred,” he said.

“Instead of accelerating out of instinct or braking and skidding further, he took his foot off the pedal and tried to control it from there.

“We had to climb out, using the yellow bars to do so.

“After we did, some bystanders stopped and helped everyone out of the bus, taking our names and letting the students sit in the cars if they were getting too cold.

“Our hands were going numb from the temperature.”

The crash happened at around 8am yesterday and involved the number 92 service run by Hedingham.

The company reported the road conditions were poor, with ice forming following a weekend of snowfall.

Leon, from Birch, added: “He did the best thing he could do.

“He came to quite a large right bend and started to lose control.

“There were probably 15to 20 other children on the bus - most of them on the top deck.

“As it happened there was, of course, panic but after that everything was silent for a few moments.

“It all happened over a few seconds.

“I was at the front on the bottom deck and the windows were filled with snow, we couldn’t tell which way up we were.

“By then the driver was calm, he shot up and checked everyone on the bottom and yelled up to those on top.

“He called the bus company and got us out.

“No-one suffered serious injuries. It was mainly the cold we had to worry about.

“Two or three people pulled up and let passengers sit in their cars to get warm.”

The bus was driven by John Podgorski, who has more than 30 years of experience.

As part of his role he also helps to train other drivers.

Jeremy Cooper, managing director of Hedingham buses, said: “I can confirm this morning we had a low speed incident where a bus slid on some ice and came off the road on to the verge.

“There were no injuries and the school children on the bus were provided with replacement transport straight away.”

He added: “The conditions were bad and thankfully John is a committed and long-serving member of the team.

“He has been involved in training and it is great to see the reaction he got from pupils on the bus.

“When things like this do happen, it is great to have someone experienced who can mitigate them.”