THE driver of this Porsche which careered through a car park wall and miraculously missed anyone walking in the underpass underneath will not face any further legal action.

Early this week, the Gazette was told by police the driver, a 73-year-old man, had been reported for careless driving, which meant he would have been set to face court action.

But yesterday it emerged he has instead simply been offered a driving course.

Mike Lilley, Colchester councillor responsible for public safety, said: “As much as I can understand what people might feel about this, in terms of law and licensing they do not deal in ifs and buts.

“On these courses, people are assessed on their driving skills and if they fall short of what is expected, they can still have their licences taken from them.

“If this man was to go to court on a careless driving charge, he might have been banned for a few months and then his licence back, without ever having his driving skills assessed.

“So in that sense, the best idea might be to send him on that course.”

Mr Lilley did admit he was surprised to hear of the decision, adding: “It is an absolute miracle no-one was hurt when this happened, especially given the time of day it happened.

“This could have been a tragic accident but the fact is, it wasn’t.”

A spokesman for road safety charity Brake added: “It is a miracle no-one was hurt.

“This incident serves to highlight the need for modern lifesaving technology, such as Advanced Emergency Braking, to be fitted to all vehicles as standard.”

He urged the UK Government to support plans put forward by the EU.