A pensioner has been nominated for a bravery award for averting disaster by steering a 12-tonne runaway bus out of the path of an oncoming car.

Agnes Crystal, who has never held a UK driving licence, jumped into the driving seat when the bus began to career down a hill in Dundee, colliding with several parked cars.

The quick-thinking 70-year-old managed to stop the National Express 32 service bus by ramming it into some nearby railings.

She then jumped straight onto another bus so she would not miss her line-dancing class.

The driver, who had stopped the bus and popped into a local shop, was reported to the authorities but did not have to appear in court.

Tayside Police have confirmed Mrs Crystal is now going to be put forward for formal recognition of her actions.

Mother-of-three, Mrs Crystal said: "There's no need for it. It's really nice that they have thought to put me forward but I'm just happy that everything's alright."

Speaking of her heroics, she said: "You could just feel it go like it was about to move.

"By the time I got there, it had started to take off. It was moving to the other side of the road and there was a car coming the other way.

"All I could think of was that, if this car didn't stop, there would be a big accident. So I grabbed the wheel and swung it round and pulled it the other way.

"It's just something that happened and something you had to get on with - or I don't know what could have happened."

One passenger suffered minor injuries in the accident in December and two parked cars were damaged. The windscreen of the bus also fell out, shattering glass across the pavement.