THE DRIVER of a bus which narrowly missed a seven-year-old girl who was crossing at a set of traffic lights on her way home from school has been sacked.

Courtney Flynn was waiting with her mum at the lights on Somerton Road on Thursday, October 13, at around 3.20pm.

CCTV footage showed the green man came on, signalling it was safe to cross.

However, a bus could then be seen approaching the lights, braking as Courtney was in road. Courtney managed to turn around and narrowly avoid the bus, which carried on driving through the lights.

Newport Transport have now confirmed that, after an internal review, the driver of the bus has been sacked.

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.”

Speaking after the incident, Courtney's mum Tracy said she hoped for increased safety measures on the road, especially around school start and finish times.

“We’ve been trying to get help with that road for a while but haven’t got anywhere,” she said.

“Next time someone might not be as lucky as my little girl.

“I grabbed her hood but lost my grip. She must’ve heard me shout as she managed to get back out of the way.

“Another second and she wouldn’t have been here to celebrate her seventh birthday.

“My little girl loved school but the next day she didn’t want to go. We were both shaken up after it happened, and she missed school the following day as we couldn't face that road so soon.

“She’s still a bit wary by that road.”