A pensioner who was almost mowed down on a zebra crossing branded the driver a “w****r” seconds before he was attacked and left seriously injured on the ground, a murder trial heard yesterday.

On the second day of the trial at Reading Crown Court, jurors heard that 70-year-old grandad Odysseas Vafiadis came within feet of knocking over Paul Davidson last November, before he sprinted from his car and launched a violent attack.

Prosecutors claim Vafiadis started throwing punches and kicks at the 69-year-old Chalfont St Peter residents’ face, arm and back, fracturing four ribs, leading to his death three days later.

READ MORE HERE: Murder trial day one - Driver, 70, accused of killing OAP in road rage zebra crossing attack

As witnesses began giving evidence, the court heard how the pensioner swore at Vafiadis seconds before he was brutally attacked and relentlessly kicked while laying helplessly on the ground.

The victim's partner of 15 years, Nicola Ferguson, described Vafiadis as being "hellbent on kicking him" as Mr Davidson collapsed on the pavement outside a greengrocers' store in Chalfont St Peter at around 9pm on November 6.

Reporting the attack days before his death, the victim told police he punched Vafiadis in the testicles in a bid to stop the assault which happened as he made his way home from the White Hart public house.

Mr Davidson, who previously suffered broken ribs in a hit-and-run attack, had been drinking with 57-year-old Mrs Ferguson and had three glasses of red wine when he left and bought a kebab.

In a police statement, he said: "I was walking ahead of my partner and I walked to the zebra crossing. I looked up the hill and I saw a car coming down the hill but it was a long way off.

"By the time I was in the middle of the road the car was approaching at speed.

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"It was a white Skoda Yeti and it stopped very suddenly in the line. I didn't think it was going to stop. I was nervous. I thought I was going to get hit by the car.

"I made a rude gesture and called him a 'w****r' and I walked to the other side of the road. The driver got out of the car and said something like 'old git' to me."

Mr Davidson described the driver as looking angry and told police he got out of the car and ran towards him on the other side of the zebra crossing.

Mr Davidson died three days after the attack when he returned home from walking his dog Daisy, vomiting and collapsing.

Recounting the attack in court, Ms Ferguson said: “I saw what I perceived to be a four-wheel drive white vehicle driving at what I would call an excessive speed.

"I thought what is this person doing at such an alarming speeding and I thought this person was going to run Paul over.

"The car stopped eventually. It almost touched Paul's jacket. I was terrified. At that stage the car had stopped and there were two other vehicles behind it.

"Paul was virtually in the middle of the zebra crossing. If he did hit him he would have taken half of him out."

Mrs Ferguson revealed that she saw the driver "sprint" to the other side where Mr Davidson was standing and grabbed him round the neck and threw a punch.

The trial continues.