A PENSIONER has praised the actions of pupils from Arrow Vale High School who came to the rescue of him and his wife following an accident on a bus.

John Rainbow, 85, and his wife, 79, who is in a wheelchair, were on the way to the Alexandra Hospital from their home in Church Hill on a First Bus last week.

The bus was travelling around an island when Mrs Rainbow's wheelchair turned on its side and dragged both her and her husband to the other side of the gangway.

Mr Rainbow said: "I asked the driver to help me put my wife back in the wheelchair so we could carry on with the journey but he said we couldn't continue with the journey.

"The Arrow Vale pupils lifted the chair off me and helped me to stand up. They advised me to leave my wife on the floor, saying they had phoned for an ambulance.

"They stayed with us until the ambulance arrived although they could have gone on the following bus."

Mr Rainbow added: "We are a pair of oldies and are very grateful for their help, we don't know what we would have done without them. They are a credit to their school."

Mr Rainbow also thanked a lady who cradled his wife's head in her lap until the ambulance arrived. Mrs Rainbow's wrist was fractured.