School pals thanked for trying to help save man's life on Hartlepool bus

Logan Stokes 13 (left) and Archie Pugh 12. Picture by FRANK REID

High Tunstall pupils Logan Stokes, 13, and Archie Pugh, 12, were travelling on the Stagecoach No. 1 service home from school last Thursday when they realised that a man seating near them had become ill.

The quick-thinking pals leapt into action, with Archie going to notify the driver, while Logan called 999.

Logan Stokes(13) with his mum Charlotte (42) (left) and Archie Pugh (12) with his mum Samantha (42). Picture by FRANK REID

The bus stopped in Raby Road, near the junction of Chester Road, around 3pm, while the emergency services arrived, but Cleveland Police later confirmed that the man, in his 50s, had sadly died.

Police said they are not treating the death as suspicious.

Now the schoolboys from Seaton have been praised by Stagecoach and their parents for the way they handled the distressing situation.

Archie’s mum Samantha Pugh said: “We all want to pass on our respects to the family. “Logan and Archie have gone to school together for a while and they get the bus together each day.

“They get on outside of the school and get off at Seaton, but they had gotten a later bus than normal that day, as they had missed the first bus, so it was just the two of them from the school on the service.

“Archie informed the bus driver to stop because they realised that the man needed help and Logan phoned 999.

“We also had a call from the school to say that Archie was helping the other people on the bus by reassuring them. I could cry, I am so proud of them both.”

Logan’s mum, Charlotte Stokes, said the man had got on at the same stop as the boys. She said: “I am really proud of them.

“The school has called me and said that Stagecoach has got in touch with them to thank them for what they had done. “Logan was a bit quiet the night it happened and was quite shocked when he came home - he said he couldn’t get the man’s face out of his mind.

“But he has now taken it in his stride.

“Stagecoach said to the teachers that the boys did more than the adults on the bus at the time.”

A spokesman for Stagecoach North East said: “We are grateful for the assistance of Logan and Archie during this sad incident and have contacted their school directly to pass on our thanks to them.”