A bus driver has been cleared of causing the death of an elderly passenger who was thrown from her seat when he braked sharply to avoid hitting a van.

The jury of eight women and four men took just 36 minutes to find Greg Emmerson not guilty of causing death by careless driving.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the 26-year-old Arriva driver took five to seven seconds to react to the van indicating and slowing down in front of him.

Beatrice Meager, 86, shot out of her seat and hit a metal pole, fracturing some of her ribs. Her injuries led to complications and she died in hospital 15 days later.

Following the acquittal on Friday, Judge Julian Smith told jurors: “It is never straight forward, it is never easy.

"Tragedy that is so often a feature of the work we deal with in this court is something which is very difficult to detach yourself from.

“You have dealt with real life, real loss and consequences.

"You have a key role – a very responsible and important role.”

Judge Smith praised Mrs Meager’s family as having been “commendable”.

Maidstone Crown Court was told the single decker was on route 414 on the A225 Hawley Road in Dartford in the early afternoon of September 19 last year.

Barry Pickthorn was braking and about to turn right in his Citroen Relay van in front of the bus.

“She sustained fractures to her left ribs, which led to breathing difficulties, infections and other complications, from which she later died..." - prosecutor Martin Yale

He began indicating in his Greenwich Joinery works van as he was about to turn into an alleyway to his workshop the other side of an underpass.

Prosecutor Martin Yale said it was alleged Mr Emmerson did not initially notice and failed to react to the van.

CCTV footage from the bus showed that Mr Emmerson did not brake for at least five to seven seconds after the first point at which Mr Pickthorn could be seen indicating.

Because of the slow frame rate in the footage it was not possible to be precise as to exactly when Mr Pickthorn began indicating.

“When he realised the van was slowing, he braked, and he braked hard - so hard that two passengers, including Beatrice Meager, were thrown from their seats,” said Mr Yale.

No one on the bus, including Mr Emmerson, was wearing seatbelts as it was exempt such regulations.

“Initially, Beatrice Meager did not seem as seriously injured as she clearly was,” said Mr Yale. “She was helped up from the floor by another passenger and Mr Emmerson.

“She sustained fractures to her left ribs, which led to breathing difficulties, infections and other complications, from which she later died.

“Such was the rapid nature of the braking that a car travelling behind made slight contact with the back of the bus. That contact, however, was not the cause of Beatrice Meager being thrown from her seat.”

Mr Emmerson, of Freeman Road, Gravesend, told police moments before the incident he checked his nearside mirror to see if there was any traffic behind him and when he looked ahead he saw the van brake sharply.

“He braked and stopped,” said Mr Yale. “As a result, he banged his head. He looked in his internal mirror and saw two passengers on the floor. He went to help.”

Mr Emmerson, who denied the charge, said he knew the route well and described it as one of his favourites. He said he had not been in a hurry and was running on time.

It was a warm, sunny day. He was travelling a safe distance behind the van and there was no communication at the time on his two-way radio.

A crash investigator found that Mr Emmerson was travelling a safe distance behind the van and would have had a clear, unobstructed view of it and its brake lights.