An elderly man mixed up his brake and accelerator and sped forward into a taxi.

In a bid to correct his mistake – after crashing into the taxi – he diverted and then bashed a petrol pump. The incident took place in Asda in Brighton Marina at about 2.25pm today.

A crew from Roedean fire station attended because it was feared petrol could have leaked although none actually did. A firefighter said: “It was a total accident.

“He just mixed up his pedals. He was a bit shaken but everyone was alright and he was talking by the time we got there.

“I very much doubt any charges will be laid – he didn’t mean to do it.”