A BUS driver was close to tears yesterday as he described the moments before a woman motorist was killed when her car pulled out in front of him.

Darren Ross, 33, from Bishop Auckland, said he believed there was nothing he could do to avoid the Toyota Corina driven by 59-year-old Joan Hindmarch, from Shildon.

He told South Durham and Darlington Coroner Andrew Tweddle that Mrs Hindmarch pulled out of the junction on the A689, near Rushyford, in March, leaving him with no room to manoeuvre.

He said another car pulled out in front of him moments before Mrs Hindmarch and he was shocked when she followed.

He said: "To this day I still don't blame Mrs Hindmarch. I still think that her foot slipped off the clutch and that is when she came in front of the bus. There was no warning. There was no way I could avoid her."

Mr Ross, who was completing a school run, said he had been driving at 50 miles per hour when he last checked his speedometer before the accident.

PC Andrew Edgar said police investigations revealed he was driving at 63mph.

However, PC Edgar stated that the impact would still have been the same and Mr Ross would still not have been able to avoid the accident.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded.