A bus driver from Thornton Heath became hero of the hour on Friday after a three-year-old girl vanished from Sutton High Street sparking a police alert.

There were fears the young girl had been abducted after she vanished from Matalan in the High Street at 4.45pm on November 12.

After her mother raised the alarm police flooded the High Street and sent a helicopter into the air to search for her.

Concerned shoppers posted warnings to parents on Facebook, telling them to avoid the High Street or hold on to their children.

It was 40 minutes before the girl was finally spotted on the 407 bus to Caterham by driver David Pedro.

Mr Pedro, who had taken over the Abellio bus at Beddington Lane, said he noticed a young girl on the seat behind him but assumed she was with the lady sitting next to her.

But when the bus reached Park Street in Croydon, the lady got off the bus leaving the girl behind.

Mr Pedro, 38, from Beddington Lane bus depot, said: “Some of the passengers started panicking when they realised the little girl was without her parents.

“I immediately stopped the bus and transferred the passengers to the bus behind. Then I raised the alarm on the bus radio”.

The call was picked up by police operators who sent officers to Croydon to collect the three-year-old.

She was finally reunited with her anxious parents at 6.09pm, nearly an hour and a half after she first went missing.

It is believe she must have wandered out the front door of the shop and straight onto the busy 407 bus which had stopped directly outside.

Mr Pedro said the girl was smiling and happy and completely unaware of the panic her disappearance had sparked.

He said: “I asked her where her parents were but she was too young to understand and just pointed to the back door.

“I was trying to keep her happy and calm and was showing her how to play the bus bells “My worry is that she could so easily have got off the bus on her own or been picked up someone.

“I am a father and know how painful it would be to lose your child.”

A police spokesman said: “We take all reports very seriously and officers quickly flooded the area.

“We acted quickly to try to find the child and we are delighted the she turned up safe and well.”