A bus driver has admitted killing a pensioner after knocking her down at a pedestrian crossing.

Alena Faltyskova, from the Czech Republic, was visiting Edinburgh with her family to celebrate her 70th birthday when she was hit by the double-decker Lothian bus.

On Tuesday, 63-year-old bus driver James Muir admitted causing her death by driving without due care and attention.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard he failed to keep a proper lookout as he approached the pedestrian crossing on Main Street, in the city's Davidson Mains area, on May 14 last year.

Prosecutors told the court that Ms Faltyskova was in the capital with her husband of 30 years and her son, his wife and their three daughters, who live in Edinburgh.

The couple were going to buy items from a supermarket before going to church when they crossed the road.

Muir's bus failed to stop and struck Ms Faltyskova, trapping her under the front.

Fiscal Depute Ian Gray told the court: "A man and his son were sitting at the front window of the upper deck and the man said he thought the bus was going to stop, but it just kept going and the deceased was lost to his vision."

When Muir was questioned by police he was upset and crying, telling officers: "I just saw her at the last minute. That was it."

Defence solicitor Graeme Runcie said: "He (Muir) accepted responsibility and did not want the family to have any further difficulties.

"This was a tragic, isolated incident, both for the family of the deceased and the family of the accused."

Sheriff Frank Crowe deferred sentence until October for background reports, noting that Muir had an unblemished driving record.