A WHITELEY man who deliberately drove his car at a group of children playing football, knocking one of them down, has narrowly escaped jail.

Robert Davies was facing a prison term after being found guilty of dangerous driving and assault during a trial where his victims were forced to relive the ordeal.

Davies, 20, had denied aiming for a 13-year-old boy who suffered a badly bruised leg as a result of being hit by the car.

At Portsmouth Crown Court Davies was told he had come 'extremely close' to a jail term for what was described as a 'reckless piece of driving' by Judge Iain Hughes.

He said: "He (Davies) essentially drove a quarter of a tonne of metal at a young boy. With offences of such seriousness the only option is usually prison."

Defence barrister Janice Brennan told the court how Davies, who had been driving less than a year when the accident happened, did not intend to hit the boy but had simply acted immaturely.

She said: "It was a bad piece of driving of course, but he couldn't have been driving exceptionally fast otherwise the injuries would have been catastrophic.

"The immaturity he showed reflected the lack of experience behind the wheel of a car. He did not fully appreciate the consequences his actions would have."

During the two-day trial at Portsmouth Crown Court the young victim was forced to relive the moment the car came straight at him on the afternoon of February 18.

The 13-year-old told the jury via a video link how he tried to run out of the path of the car but was hit on the back of the leg.

He said he saw Davies, of Thyme Avenue, Whiteley, grinning as he drove out of the Locks Heath centre car park where the accident happened.

The court heard how he had approached the boys who were playing football asking them for a kick around.

When he attempted a shot at goal and missed the teenagers laughed at him and an argument followed.

Davies said the teenagers had made snide remarks and he had driven away close enough to scare them but never intended to cause any harm.

The incident was captured on CCTV at the Locks Heath shopping centre. The jury was shown stills of the footage that clearly showed the 13-year-old victim sprawled across the bonnet of Davies' Volkswagen Polo.

Judge Hughes sentenced Davies to a 240 hour community punishment order and ordered he pay £250 compensation along with £650 towards the cost of the case.