THIS is the dramatic moment a cyclist pulled out in front of an oncoming bus in York - only avoiding injury thanks to the actions of the bus driver.

It happened at a pedestrian crossing in Station Road near York Railway Station while the traffic lights were on green, and was recorded on a dashcam by Leigh Farrow who was driving towards the crossing from the opposite direction to the Park&Ride bus, operated by First.

Leigh said: “At the time of the near-accident my initial reaction was shock followed by relief. What you can’t see in the video is the motorcycle directly behind me who also had to take evasive action to avoid me.”

He added: “This [sharing the video] was never intended as a dig at cyclists.

“I myself am a keen cyclist and regularly commute to work through York’s traffic.

“It was more a general wake up call for all road users to be more aware of their surroundings.

“Every day you will see cyclists, car drivers, lorry and bus drivers taking pointless risks to save themselves five minutes.

“In this case that rash decision could quite easily have resulted in serious injury if not death, not to mention the emotional distress caused to all involved.”

Paul Hepworth, North Yorkshire press officer for the national organisation Cycling UK, added: “This cyclist was fortunate not to injure himself or others.

“Behaviour like this gets us all a bad name.”

A spokesperson for First York said the incident could have ended very differently.

The spokesperson said: “It’s clear from the footage that our driver was travelling through a green traffic light and that the cyclist crossed the main road without checking if a vehicle was approaching.

“The cyclist was very lucky, as this could have resulted in serious or fatal injuries, but the quick reaction of our bus driver and the driver with the dashcam, prevented a more serious incident or outcome.”