'Deeply troubling' - West Midlands mayor Andy Street hits out at BBC for Solihull car crash coverage

West Midlands mayor Andy Street has written to the BBC to express his concern over how the broadcaster reported on a car crash involving a mother and daughter in Solihull.

The moment a mum pulled her two-year-old daughter to safety seconds before her pram was hit by a car in a heart-stopping crash in Olton, was captured on CCTV and released by West Midlands Police as part of an appeal. The BBC at Six broadcast the clip in its 'and finally' section. Andy Street’s cycling and walking commissioner Adam Tranter tweeted about the BBC's reporting of the incident.

He wrote: "I personally don’t think horrific crashes like this should be in the light-hearted 'and finally' section." The region's mayor revealed on social media that he has now written a letter to the broadcaster, saying that "Road danger is not a trivial matter."

Writing to the corporation's Director of Editorial Policy and Standards in a letter that has also been signed by Adam Tranter and Lucy Harrison of Road Peace West Midlands, Mr Street wrote: "Following the broadcast of a news segment yesterday which featured a serious road traffic collision in Olton, Solihull, we are writing to express our profound concern over the portrayal of this incident in an inappropriately lighthearted fashion. Given that road traffic collisions have a serious psychological effect on victims and their families, the deciion to include the incident in this was was deeply troubling."

The dramatic footage shows the mother and daughter narrowly avoiding being killed by the vehicle after a woman crashed into a lamppost and flipped onto the pavement into their path.

Seconds later, the mum can be seen miraculously walking away from the car hugging her daughter and sitting down on a chair outside a nearby restaurant The horrifying smash happened as the woman pushed her tot in a buggy near a zebra crossing at around 4pm on Saturday (December 16).

West Midlands Police are now investigating the incident and are appealing for information. West Midlands Cycling and Walking Commissioner Adam Tranter also said he was "concerned that the driver has not been arrested".

One employee at a local shop, who didn't want to be named, said: "One of our employees from the business helped the driver, her face was bleeding. She was confused and she had to come out of the boot. The pram ended up under the vehicle. We've never seen anything like this happen on the road. We were in the back, we didn't even see it. A customer came in and said 'did you see what happened?"'