A driver who hit a child at a lollipop lady-controlled crossing after the sun blinded her has been cleared of driving without due care and attention.

Eastern Daily Press: Reepham Road at the junction with Heather Avenue.Reepham Road at the junction with Heather Avenue. (Image: Archant)

Lorraine Pointer, 49, appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court yesterday afternoon over the crash, which saw a young girl left with a broken leg and smashed teeth.

The court heard how Mrs Pointer, of Hastings Avenue in Helleson, was driving along Reepham Road early on the morning of Wednesday, December 9 last year when the sun blinded her.

She said she shielded her eyes and tried to slow down in the 'couple of seconds' before she hit the girl, who was with her mother at the back of the group crossing near Heather Avenue Infant School.

In a statement read aloud to the court, lollipop lady Teresa Murphy said: 'I always look over my shoulder to see oncoming cars and saw a car which was clearly not going to stop.

'One little girl was just on the side of the road, there was a loud bang and I think the little girl went up in the air.'

The court heard how Mrs Pointer had been driving her car, a Vauxhall Zafira, for 10 years and, having lived in the area for more than 20 years, knew the roads well.

Prosecuting, Jane Foster questioned whether Mrs Pointer, knowing there were crossings along the road, should have pulled over when she lost her vision.

Simon Nicholls, defending, said: 'I know it's unfashionable, but there used to be a word called an accident. Even the police now call crashes road traffic collisions.

'But sometimes things happen and it's not anybody's fault. Sometimes accidents happen.'

In July, Mrs Pointer pleaded not guilty to the one charge of driving without due care and attention.