A YOUNG child has undergone more surgery after a horrific crash.

The four-year-old boy was one of four children in a Vauxhall Zafira which flipped over and smashed into a telegraph pole in Mersea Road, Abberton, on Wednesday.

First Buses had praised its driver, who stopped at the scene when he saw the overturned car.

Ex-Gurkha Rubin Gurung pulled over and led passengers to the car, where they had to force the doors open to free the family.

Mr Gurung dialled 999 using his mobile phone and police arrived to take over.

The injured family was ushered on board the bus by emergency services to keep warm and get out of the rain.

Paramedics later decided one of the children needed to be put on a spinal board, so firefighters were called to remove the grab rail and a couple of seats to allow the stretcher off.

Mr Rubin, who has been a driver with First for just over a year, was initially concerned he would be blamed for the damage to his bus.

But, Cliff Hussey, area operations director for First in Suffolk and north Essex, had nothing but praise for him.

He said: “We gave Rubin a pat on the back for the actions he took.

“Firstly for stopping, because not everyone would have done, and secondly for allowing the use of his bus for all the right reasons.

“It was a bold decision for a driver to decide to stop off his own back, because normally anything and everything has to be okayed by the control.”

Passengers on board were severely delayed on their journey, but Mr Hussey praised both their actions in helping the driver and their community-spirited conduct.

The youngest child underwent surgery at Colchester General Hospital both on Wednesday night and yesterday for both leg and head injuries.

An 11-year-old girl also remained in hospital yesterday for observations. Two other boys, aged six and eight, and their parents all received treatment for minor injuries.

Police are still appealing for any witnesses they have not yet spoken to to contact them at Stanway road policing unit on 0300 3334444.