A man accused of murdering a young footballer by running him down with his car told a court he only meant to ‘make him jump’.

Daniel Press admitted that 21-year-old William Buckingham’s death was his fault, but said he only meant to scare him by driving really close to the pavement.

Mr Buckingham, from Morden, was killed after being hit by Mr Press’s car on the A24 London Road, less than an hour after a fight between both men at the Star Pub in Ewell, a jury at Kingston Crown Court heard.

Following the fight, bus driver Mr Press, 24, from Ewell, picked up his children Joshua and Keira, aged three years old and nine months old, and drove away with his girlfriend Kerry Barnett towards her house in Carshalton.

Giving evidence yesterday, Mr Press described the moment he hit Mr Buckingham with his car.

He told the court that as they were moving along the A24, Miss Barnett spotted Mr Buckingham and his friends walking on the pavement and said “I think that’s the people from the pub.”

Mr Press said: “I said ‘are you sure?’ and straight away I said ‘I’m going to make them jump’.”

He said he was looking at the people as he was moving closer to the pavement, he put one hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, and started to move towards the kerb.

The next thing he felt was jolt on the steering wheel, he told the jury.

He said: “As soon as I realised I was on the pavement I didn’t do anything on my pedals... I froze for one second and I grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and then I looked and kept my eyes on the road.”

After he mounted the pavement he said he heard a loud crack on the windscreen and as he went back on the road he was not sure if he had hit anyone, but that “inside” he knew he had.

He said: “I looked at Kerry and her face said it all. She had raised eyebrows and kept her hand over the mouth. The only thing she said was ‘you didn’t stop’.”

Mr Press said although he knew he had hit a person he was trying to convince himself that he had not and said he felt “more panic than anything else” and “pretty sick” about having killed Mr Buckingham.

He admitted that trying to scare them was “childish and immature” and that it was “very dangerous.”

He denies murdering Mr Buckingham, whose family live in North Cheam and Sutton.

The trial continues.