A heroic bus driver from South Oxhey drove a teenager suffering from a major allergic reaction to his door so he could get medication to save his life.

James Rossi told the other passengers on his number 268 bus that he would not be stopping until they reached the boy’s front door in Golders Green.

He completed the 12 minute journey from Hampstead High Street in half the usual time.

The 16-year-old boy approached Mr Rossi for help after the bus was held at a stop in the high street for five minutes.

He told the driver he urgently needed to use his EpiPen after becoming ill after eating a cereal bar that contained nuts.

Mr Rossi, 38, of Oxhey Drive, said: "I noticed the boy’s face looked puffy when he got on the bus, but didn't realise the seriousness of the situation.

"After telling passengers we would be waiting for five minutes I they would be held for a while, the boy approached him.

"I didn’t know it was a life or death situation but I knew it was important, I knew I had to do something.

"As soon as he told me he had to get home, I just said no problem, shut the door and off we went."

He told the passengers they were going straight to Golders Green and he wouldn’t be stopping unless he had to.

Mr Rossi, a dad-of-two, and has worked as a bus driver for seven years, thought nothing more of the incident after dropping the boy home.

The boy’s mum, a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, has since called to thank the hero driver. She is due to visit Arriva’s Watford garage to thank Mr Rossi in person.

Mr Rossi could become the face of TFL after his heroic actions. He was also praised last year when he drove a suicidal passenger straight to the Royal Free Hospital.

He added: “After I’d dropped him off, I just thought he’s ok and I carried on with my day, I was really oblivious to how important the issue was.

"According to his mum, if I hadn’t have got him home as quickly as I did, he would have died.

"The reaction I have received has been overwhelming. It feels weird because I didn't even think twice about it.

"It is embarrassing to be called a hero, I just did what I thought best."

Soon after the incident last month, Mr Rossi headed to Nepal to work with the Nepal Children’s Trust.

He worked in two remote villages devastated by last April’s earthquake.