Crowd of people with blankets and pillows rush to help man hit by bus in Burley

Witnesses said it was unclear whether the man, believed to be in his 30s, was hit when crossing the road or if he fell into the path of the bus from the pavement.

Burley Road has since reopened.

A mechanic working nearby said: “I heard the slamming on of brakes and then the bus driver ran off the bus to check on him.

“The man was down the side of the bus. It’s not clear if he’d slipped off the pavement or maybe if he’d had a fit.

“A crowd of people gathered round him with blanket and a pillow.

“There were coppers everywhere.”

Police were called at 1.55pm. The air ambulance landed in Burley Bottom Park but the man was taken to hospital by road.

Neal Sellers, managing director of Acclaim Solutions Limited, which is based in Bentleys Solicitors in Burley Road, said: “I stepped out for a cigarette and saw the bus there with its hazard lights on.

“The ambulances arrived, then the police and then the air ambulance.

“It was chaos out there on the road before they had the chance to put the cordon up.”

Traffic heading out of Leeds was diverted down Burley Grange Road.

Burley Road reopened around 5.30pm.