A BUS company in Southampton has launched an investigation after a driver allegedly left a woman unconscious at a stop.

Unilink is carrying out a probe after passengers who were at a bus stop near Southampton airport on Wednesday afternoon said the bus driver did not help or offer to help them provide first aid to a young woman who collapsed on the pavement.

Passengers said the incident happened at around 5pm at the bus stop on Mitchell Way.

A spokesperson for South Central Ambulance Service said they were called to the nearby Wide Lane for a medical emergency involving an adult woman on Wednesday at 5.16pm. The spokesperson said the woman was taken to Southampton General Hospital but could not confirm her condition.

Southampton business owner Nico Boyce was one of those waiting at the bus stop on Mitchell Way on Wednesday.

He said a woman in her 30s complained of stomach pains and collapsed.

He added that those who were at the bus stop ran to help her and called the emergency services.

But he claims the bus driver of the U1, which runs from the airport to Portswood, did not get out of the parked bus to help or offer to move the woman onto the bus.

Mr Boyce, 30, added: “She sat there while those of us waiting at the bus stop administered first aid, she sat and watched while we called an ambulance and she sat and stared for much of the duration of the wait for the paramedics to arrive.”

Mr Boyce said they could not get the driver’s attention.

“At no point did she bother to say ‘is everything okay’ or perhaps ‘shall we move her on to the warm and comfortable bus rather than leave her lying on the cold pavement’. I was furious. This is crazy. She didn’t open the doors until the bus was about to go.”

Mr Boyce said the bus had arrived few minutes before the woman collapsed but did not opened the doors – “despite passengers freezing in the cold”.

And added: “In a situation like this there is a human responsibility. If there would have been nobody else waiting for the bus would the driver have just driven off?”

Kerrie Grant, Unilink operations manager, said: “I am concerned to receive this report about one of our drivers. Excellent customer service, and ensuring the safety of those who travel with us, are our top priorities – and our team is highly trained to reflect these values.

“We are carrying out an internal investigation – including a review of CCTV footage – to establish the circumstances behind this incident.”

The company did not confirm or deny the incident.