The driver of a cement mixer that crashed off a bridge on to a train has pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.

The cement mixer, being driven by Petru Achim, 35, of Hook, Hampshire, crashed through a bridge wall on Warren Lane in Oxshott, at 3.30pm on November 5 last year, falling 35 feet down on to a passing train.

Although the vehicle hit the back two carriages of the train, which had only just left Oxshott station, remarkably nobody was killed.

Achim and another passenger were taken to hospital with serious injuries, while other passengers suffered minor injuries.

Achim made his plea via post and did not appear for the hearing at Staines Magistrates’ Court, as he was wrongly told by police he did not have to, prosecutor Donna Webster told the court. His Romanian interpreter did attend.

Window fitter George Palmer, 16, was with his friend Elliott Walker, 27, on his way back from work and followed the mixer west along the A244 from Leatherhead.

He said: "We followed him off the motorway. He scraped the brick wall and tried to correct it but he didn't want to go into the on-coming traffic.

"He clipped the wall, then fell down and the weight of the cement mixer pulled the vehicle down. It was the back end which went first. It was like something out of a movie, I couldn't believe it.

"We ran out of the van and debris was everywhere. We could see him hanging out of the cabin but we didn't want to look."

Achim pleaded not guilty to failing to ensure the proper use of recording equipment in the vehicle on the same day the crash occurred. A trial will take place later this year and sentencing for the guilty plea will happen after the trial.