Anger at 'pathetic' fine for driver, 45, who jumped red light and nearly hit boy

Watch: Sports car driver fined for jumping red light and narrowly missing child on bike

This is the shocking moment a sports car driver jumped a red traffic light and narrowly avoided hitting a child on a bike.

Dashcam footage from another vehicle shows the silver Mazda car break through the red traffic lights while a boy on his bike was crossing the road.

Swindon Police posted the clip on its Facebook page after driver Jody New, 45, was sentenced after pleading guilty to careless driving.

New, from Harbour Close, Swindon, drove his car through the red traffic light at Peglars Way near the Deanery Academy on 28 April.

Police said he had gone through the traffic lights "at speed, narrowly missing a student when the red light had been showing for around three seconds".

The force added: "He then screeched around the corner."

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New was sentenced on 7 October at Swindon Magistrates' Court, and ordered to pay a fine of £307, as well as a £34 victim surcharge and £110 costs to Wiltshire Police.

His driving licence was endorsed with six penalty points.

However, there was public anger at his sentencing among social media users.

One wrote: "He didn’t narrowly miss the child, the child was so switched on that he saved his own life. Absolutely pathetic punishment."

Another said: "How did he keep his licence?"

One Facebook user wrote: "Anyone willing to drive as recklessly as that needs to actually learn their lesson and not feel happy that they got away with it."

Another wrote: "Pitiful sentence by the court, but thank you to the person who submitted the footage and the police who followed it up."

Swindon Police said: "We’d like to thank the member of the public who came forward to report the incident and for the dashcam footage."