Naked man uses bus to flee blaze

A quick-thinking bus driver came to the rescue by manoeuvring his vehicle to help a naked man escape from a burning building.

The man was thought to have been in the shower when the fire started in his third-floor flat above a café in Braintree, Essex, and he found himself trapped.

Passers-by flagged down off-duty bus driver Andy Waterman, who positioned his double-decker close to the roof of the flat, allowing the man to jump about 10ft to safety. Firefighters then arrived and pitched a ladder to help him to the ground.

Mr Waterman, from West Mersea, is now to receive a commendation.

He said: “A group of people started flagging me down and they were asking me to stop. I asked them what the problem was and they said a man was stuck on the roof of his flat because it was on fire. I drove nearer and all I could see was thick, black smoke.

“I saw the man and thought ‘We’ve got to get him to safety’.

“The police told me that I did a good job. It wasn’t until I got home that someone said that I had saved a life.

“I have been driving buses for eight years and nothing like this has happened before. I am just pleased the man is alive.”

Speaking about the blaze, which happened on Wednesday evening, incident commander Dave Barritt said: “The man was trapped on the third floor and there was no way he could get out.

“If the bus hadn’t been there I don’t know how he would have escaped — the fall could easily have killed him. The bus driver’s actions saved this man’s life.

“It’s an unusual rescue, but it was extremely effective.”