Newport driver sacked after bus almost hit girl, 7

A bus driver has been sacked after going through a red light and nearly hitting a seven-year-old girl.

Newport Transport said it was "deeply sorry for the distress" to Courtney and her family after the bus narrowly avoided her on Somerton Road.

CCTV footage showed she began to cross when the green man appeared, but had to quickly turn around to avoid the bus.

The company said it would "always take swift action" if staff did not drive professionally.

Courtney had been waiting at the crossing with her mum Tracy Flynn on 13 October.

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Ms Flynn believes the driver being sacked was the right decision, adding: "I'm glad that something's been done, I wouldn't want to see other people being hurt like we could have been.

"He could have hurt my little girl - or killed her - so I worry others could have been hurt."

Courtney was walking home from school when she was almost hit by the bus

Ms Flynn, who was walking Courtney home from school, saw the bus and tried to grab her daughter's hood as she walked into the road, but missed, so shouted her name.

Ms Flynn, a mother-of-two, said the bus started slowing down when the male driver saw them on the crossing but accelerated through the lights after Courtney jumped back, with the driver making no attempt to apologise.

"He just looked straight ahead and kept going. He upped his speed to get away from us."

Ms Flynn said Courtney had become wary at the lights since, and was always checking for the number of the bus which almost hit her.

Tracy Flynn said this was not the first time there's been a near miss

Scott Pearson, managing director of Newport Transport, said: "We are deeply sorry for the distress caused to Courtney and her family.

"We took immediate action and suspended the driver from service.

"Following the completion of the internal review, the driver has now been dismissed from the company.

"Safety is paramount to us, our drivers undergo extensive training to ensure the safety of our passengers, pedestrians and other road users and we conduct continuous competency audits.

"We expect our staff to drive professionally at all times, and where that does not happen, we will always take swift action."