Alton coach crash first-aider honoured

PRINCESS Anne has recognised the efforts of a 21-year-old who was first on the scene of a bus crash in which one man died and dozens were injured.

First-aider Bradley Ford was honoured during a St John Ambulance young achievers ceremony at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

The 21-year-old, of Alton Bridge Hotel, Alton, was one of the first rescuers to reach the crash in August.

The double-decker bus, containing 71 foreign workers, plunged 40ft down an embankment opposite the hotel.

Three days earlier, Bradley had completed a St John Ambulance first aid course.

The former pupil of Painsley Catholic College, Cheadle, received personal congratulations from the Princess Royal at the St John Ambulance reception.

Bradley speaks to the Princess Royal at the St John Ambulance reception.

Bradley used hand signals to communicate with the bus passengers, who were migrant workers, from a fruit farm in Peterborough, that had enjoyed a day out at Alton Towers.

Bradley said: “To be comforting someone who is alive only for them to be dead two seconds later is something not many people will ever have to experience.

“In those circumstances, every little thing makes a big difference and the paramedics told us how much we had helped.

“It is horrible to think how much more serious it might have been.

“The things that I saw that evening have given me a completely different outlook on life. Now, every day I give thanks for my life, nature and my parents.

“My ultimate ambition is to become a policeman and that is one of the reasons I joined St John Ambulance – it was just incredibly lucky that I was fresh out of training.

“When I was working with the casualties, the last thing I was thinking about was that I would be thrown into the limelight.”

Maureen Upton, county commander of St John Ambulance, said: “It is a testament to all the hard work of skilled young people who join St John Ambulance, including Bradley.

“We first learnt about Bradley’s bravery through the press and everything happened from there.

“We put his name forward for an award because we wanted to recognise this achievement and his ability to undertake decisions.

“Bradley had only just completed his training and, while all our volunteers are trained to help save lives in emergency situations, his actions were very brave considering how little experience he had acquired.”

Staffordshire Police chief inspector John Maddox, who was in charge of policing at the crash scene, said: “Bradley, along with several other residents, played an important role in offering assistance to patients at what was a very distressing crash scene.

“This support greatly helped emergency service staff as we dealt with the aftermath of the incident.”

Do you know someone whose achievements should be recognised?