Bus driver stops woman from jumping off bridge with son

A bus driver has been hailed a hero for his quick reaction when he pulled a woman and her four-year-old son away from a bridge's ledge.

Surveillance footage from the bus shows driver Zhang Zhide pull up next to the pair as they walked along a non-pedestrian section of the Pearl River Bridge in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou last Thursday, Guangzhou Daily reported.

Video shows the mother begin to lift her son over the barrier and place her leg over it.

Mr Zhang rushes out of the bus yelling and wraps his arms around them before pulling them to safety.

As the woman continues to struggle, passengers on the bus rush to the driver's aid.

Speaking to reporters following the incident, Mr Zhang, 48, said he was thankful he managed to prevent a tragedy with just seconds to spare.

"When I think of it now, I'm quite scared, because the guardrail is very short. If I arrive later or if I don't have enough strength, the consequences would be unimaginable," he said.

Mr Zhang said he could sense something was wrong and watched the woman carefully.

The woman was eventually calmed down by passengers before police took her and her son to a police station where a relative picked up the child.

The Guangzhou Public Transport Group said Mr Zhang would receive a reward for his behaviour while on duty.

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Mr Zhang revealed he has helped numerous people while on duty, including helping a pregnant woman get to hospital.

"We also maintain a high degree of vigilance at all times. We can help others and it makes me feel that this job is more meaningful," he said.

Mr Zhang's act has made headlines right across China and the bus surveillance footage has been viewed on Twitter-like Weibo more than 250 million times.

Users hailed his fast reactions with one suggesting there was not a second to spare.

"The driver really is amazing," one person wrote.

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