A man has told of his lucky escape after an out-of-control van nearly crashed into him this morning (Febraury 6).

A man in his 20s (who wished to remain anonymous) was walking down Waddington Way in Upper Norwood when he heard the van coming towards him.

He said: "It was coming from behind, it’s not until it mounted the kerb I heard it which gave me enough time to jump out of the way.

"By the time I saw it, it was travelling over 20mph.

"I yelled because I thought the driver was reversing onto the path, but it just didn’t stop."

He checked to see if the driver was alright, but found there was nobody behind the wheel.

"People do not understand that you’re never safe on the path," he said.

"I was lucky I heard the van hit the kerb last minute, it must have been around two feet away from me when I dived out the way.

"I didn’t realise until now that this can be a silent killer.

"People need to make sure that their handbrake is secure and the vehicle cannot move before leaving."

A police spokesman confirmed that they were called at around 10.30am.

He said that there were no reports of injury and that there would likely be no further police action taken.