A courageous father from Willenhall who saved his daughter from being run over by an uninsured driver has spoken of the horrific moment the car smashed into him.

Richard Keay pushed his two-year-old daughter Ellie out of the way when a Ford Mondeo car being driven by 18-year-old Mark Shepherd hit him on the car park of the Whimsey Inn, on High Road, on the afternoon of April 5.

Yesterday Shepherd, of Essington Road, New Invention, was handed a four month prison sentence suspended for 12 months by Walsall Youth Court. He had admitted charges of failing to stop after an accident, failing to report his details, driving without a licence and having no insurance.

Mr Keay, 28, from Sandbeds Road, has now spoken of the terrible moment he thought both he and his daughter were going to be killed.

He said: “I saw him drive onto the car park and he was driving fast. He then lost control of the car and it came towards me and my little daughter. I had a split second to react and I pushed her out of the way. Fortunately she was safe but I took the full impact. My head hit the bonnet and I was left with serious injuries to my legs.”

After spending days in hospital he is still using crutches and could be off work for months. Mr Keay is angry about the sentence, saying Shepherd should have gone to jail.

“He was an uninsured driver whose actions were despicable. He ran off leaving me injured and my daughter crying for her daddy.”