A TAXI driver who hit a pedestrian who was walking in the road was fined £200 yesterday.

Sajid Rafi, 30, of Atholl Street, Middlesbrough, admitted a charge of careless driving at Teesside Crown Court.

A not guilty plea to a charge of dangerous driving was accepted by the prosecution.

John Gillette, prosecuting, said the incident happened last November last when Rafi was driving his taxi in Wilson Street, Middlesbrough.

He said the taxi was seen to swerve and strike one of a number of pedestrians crossing the road.

The man was thrown on to the bonnet of the car and then to the ground. He suffered a dislocated shoulder, said Mr Gillette.

Rafi was stopped by a police patrol car close to Middlesbrough police station and interviewed by police. He told officers he had been driving to the station to report the matter.

He said the accident happened after he was confronted by a crowd of people in the road. He had sounded his horn twice and tried to drive around the group when a man threw himself on to the car.

Peter Makepeace, for Rafi, said his client had been driving for 13 years, and a taxi driver for four years, with no trouble. He has since given up his job and sold his car.

"It is still unclear to him exactly what happened that night, but Mr Rafi accepts he should have taken more care avoiding the pedestrians," said Mr Makepeace.