A skating instructor broke down and wept as he recalled the moment a BMW struck him and his gundog near Radnor Park Road in Folkestone.

Andrew Lawrence told how he was crossing the road with his pet when they were knocked over the bonnet of the powerful car.

The 54-year-old grandfather told a jury at Canterbury Crown Court how he suffered multiple fractures in the accident in April two years ago.

Wiping away tears, Mr Lawrence said his pet later had to be put to sleep because of her injuries; adding: "She didn’t need to die that way.”

BMW driver Nathan Burgoyne, 26, of Bouverie Road West, Folkestone, has pleaded not guilty to causing Mr Lawrence serious injury by driving dangerously.

Mr Lawrence said he had just given a skating lesson and decided to take his gundog for a walk "around the block".

As he crossed Radnor Park Road he noticed a silver car in the distance underneath a railway bridge.

He decided it was safe to cross to the central reservation and was three-quarters of the way across when he heard the noise of a V8 engine “kicking in”.

“My dog was on my left handside and it was safe to cross when I began. I had a clear view of everything and I wasn’t in a rush. If I had had my grandchildren that night I would still have crossed.

“I looked to my right and he was coming straight at me. At that point I braced myself because I knew I was going to get hit, but I did expect him to jump on his brakes.

“I looked to my right and he was coming straight at me. At that point I braced myself because I knew I was going to get hit" - Andrew Lawrence in evidence

“I was expecting to hear the screech of brakes but nothing and the speed he was going I cleared the car... me and my dog cleared the car.

“He didn’t (brake). He just had his foot to the floor and came straight through me and the dog flat out.

“He was ragging it around the roundabout. He must have been", he alleged.

Prosecutor Bridget Todd told how Mr Lawrence was knocked over the car and blacked out and was later taken to the William Harvey Hospital suffering from five fractures to his legs, a fractured and displaced shoulder, and three cracked vertebrae.

When he came round, Mr Lawrence, who was shaking in the witness box, said he recalled hearing his dog yelping.

"I knew she had been hit. If he hadn't been going the speed he was going, I would have been as safe as houses, " he alleged.

The trial continues.