AN UNKNOWN hero is believed to have pulled an elderly man out of the path of an oncoming bus when an accident happened at Poole's bus station on Thursday.

The elderly man was injured when a double-decker hit a railing at the bus station at around 4.05pm.

But his injuries might have been much more serious if a quick-thinking customer in the Chip Shop, in the Dolphin Centre, had not dashed out and pulled him out of the way, said on-lookers.

The elderly man already had a broken leg and was on crutches so was unable to get out of the path of the approaching vehicle.

Eye witness Paul Stevenson, owner of The Chip Shop, said: "I heard some crunching and a lot of people were shouting and running away.

"One of my customers who was sitting in the window saw the bus shunt forward. He ran out and dragged the man out of the way and stopped him from going under the bus. It took him a few seconds to get there and by that time the bus was more or less on top of the man.

"I'm pretty sure he the elderly man was injured. The bus did push him along. My heart was pounding for about half an hour after."

A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service confirmed a rapid response vehicle and an ambulance were sent to the scene and a patient transferred to Poole Hospital.

Jon Gascoigne, from Martin's Newsagent in the Dolphin Centre, said: "I heard a lot of screams and this yellow bus had come through the railings and everyone was running towards the shops.

"From what I can make out it had pinned a man against the railings.

"There was a big crowd. There must have been 20 or 30 people," he said.

"It had probably come a couple of feet through the railings.

"The front railing was completely down. It was about ten foot long."

Andrew Diprose, spokesman for Transdev Yellow Buses, said an investigation would be launched.

He said: "A double decker bus operated by Transdev Yellow Buses service number 1b was in collision with a railing at Poole bus station.

"A male pedestrian believed to be waiting for the bus was subsequently hit by the railing.

"The pedestrian has been taken to Poole Hospital. Transdev Yellow Buses will be carrying out a full investigation into the collision and all the circumstances surrounding it."