This is the amazing moment around 100 commuters came to a trapped unicyclist's aid, lifting a double decker bus off him after a collision in east London.

The victim, who has not been named, was taken to hospital in a serious condition following the smash during rush hour yesterday.

The incredible footage shows dozens of people crowding round after the man was hit by the number 212 bus on Hoe Street, Walthamstow, just before 6pm. 

Some of those who helped lift the bus had just moments before been dining in nearby restaurants, leaving their food behind as they dashed outside to help.

The victim was this morning in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

Witness Kyra Sam said she walking towards Walthamstow market when she heard screams coming from the busy road.

She told the London Evening Standard:  'I'm really amazed at the strength of Walthamstow - no one hesitated to push the bus off, I was in shock.

'Everyone really came together to help - it was really nice to see that in the face of something so awful.

Sami Ullah, who runs a cafe near the scene of the crash, said: 'I was standing at the till and heard a loud noise. It was a big bang – we thought it was a shotgun or something.

'All of a sudden we saw people leaving their chairs at Turtle Bay and Pizza Express and running towards the road. We saw people actually coming out of the bus as well. Everybody was shouting and screaming.

'Then all of the people tried to somehow move the bus a little bit.' 

'There were so many people gathered there,' he said. 'There must have been about 50 to 100. They somehow managed to pull the bus away a bit. We were amazed – it was a heavy bus, a double decker. Police were here straightaway and they took over.'

Mr Ullah added that he had seen the man unicycling nearby before.

The bus driver was stopped by police but was not arrested.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Police were called at 5.50pm to a bus in collision with a unicyclist in Hoe Street, E17.

'The male unicyclist was taken by ambulance to an east London hospital where his condition is believed to be serious.