By Hugh Fort

A former Reading Buses driver revealed he put his foot on the accelerator instead of the brake before crashing into a man in Reading town centre.

Cheikh Daouda Senghor, 40, of St Johns Road in Wallingford, was driving the number 17 bus through Gun Street on Saturday, June 24 when he felt a "surge".

Instead of braking, he put his foot on the accelerator.

The bus then hit Simon Smith who was walking on the pavement.

Miraculously Mr Smith was able to walk away but suffered a number of injuries which mean he is still off work nearly six months on.

He suffered fractures, whiplash and internal bruising.

Another pedestrian was also injured and the bus damaged the wall of Reading Minster in St Mary's Butts.

Reading Magistrates' Court heard how a number of passengers on the bus interviewed after the crash felt Senghor was driving too fast.

Alexander Dos Santos, defending, said his client has "deep regrets" over the incident and "sends his apologies to the victim".

He said the model of bus he was driving was "prone to surges" and that it was this that led to Senghor's error.

District Judge Davinder Lacchar said: "It was through luck rather than judgement that someone wasn't killed.

"I have the view that my powers of punishment are not sufficient."

Senghor admitted one count of dangerous driving at the court on Thursday, December 14, and will be sentenced at Reading Crown Court a yet-to-be-decided date.

The incident left Gun Street closed for several hours.

In the days after extraordinary footage CCTV footage emerged of the incident which showed Mr Smith walking into the nearby Purple Turtle straight after he was hit.

Reading Buses refused to release any details of its investigation into Senghor's role in the crash.

However, the company did eventually reveal its test proved there were no defects with the vehicle.

Senghor no longer works for the company.