A bus driver has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving following a crash in which a 70-year-old man died almost two years ago.

John Spearpoint had been waiting at the bus station in Folkestone town centre when a single-decker Stagecoach 103 service to Lydd crashed through metal railings and into the shelter where he was sitting.

Mr Spearpoint was airlifted to Kings College Hospital in London, where he underwent emergency surgery, but his condition deteriorated and he died on August 28, 2022, eight days after the accident.

Now, almost two years after the crash, Kent Police has confirmed that, following lengthy investigations into the circumstances surrounding Mr Spearpoint’s death, a charge has been brought against the bus driver.

A police spokesman said: “Officers from Kent Police's serious collision investigation unit have been investigating following a collision involving a bus and a pedestrian in Middelburg Square, Folkestone, on Saturday, August 20, 2022.

“Following the collision, the pedestrian, a man in his 70s, was flown to a London hospital, where he sadly later died.

“As part of the investigation, a 65-year-old man has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.”

An inquest into Mr Spearpoint’s death, which was opened in September 2022, heard how he was left trapped under the bus for 45 minutes following the crash.

Coroner Katrina Hepburn told the court Mr Spearpoint, who lived in Bonsor Road in Folkestone, died as a result of multiple organ failure caused by complications from a crash injury.

Mr Spearpoint was known in the town for his involvement in model-making and he had previously worked at the Model Transport shop which once traded on Guildhall Street.

His former employer at the store, Trevor Claringbold, paid tribute to him by describing him as "very laid back, gentle, always smiling".

The 65-year-old man charged with causing death by dangerous driving, who has not been named by police, is due to appear before Folkestone Magistrates' Court on July 16.