The jogger who pushed a woman into traffic may have targeted his victim, according to the bus driver hailed a hero for swerving out of her way.

Oliver Salbris, 45, managed to steer his double-decker London bus away from the 33-year-old at the last second, missing her by inches.

But a month after police released footage of the incident on Putney Bridge, the culprit has still not been identified.

Speaking for the first time about the attack, Mr Salbris said the jogger had singled out the woman. ‘The consequences could have been terrible for her – and for me,’ he said.        Asked if the push was intentional, he said: ‘Yes – unless he’s a blind jogger.’ Police have refused to rule out the possibility that the victim, who has not been identified, was known to the attacker dubbed ‘the Putney Pusher’.

CCTV footage of the attack in May showed the woman walking along the bridge heading to work at 7.40am with the jogger coming towards her.   The father-of-two, who moved to Britain from France in 2005, said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before.

‘I was focusing on the road and I just saw the collision between the jogger and the woman.

‘It was a fairly close call. I thought I was going to touch her. If I hadn’t swerved, I would have smashed her head. It was reflex – and I would say thanks to God.’ 

Mr Salbris said the jogger had chosen to push the woman rather than a man walking directly in front of her, adding: ‘He looked like he was doing it on purpose. He needs to be caught and to explain himself. He needs to be prosecuted.’