Danny Cipriani in hospital after being hit by a bus in Leeds

RUGBY star Danny Cipriani was in hospital last night after being hit by a bus while on a night out with his Sale Shark team mates in Leeds.

The former England player, who is dating model Kelly Brook, escaped serious injury when he was knocked down by the double-decker bus, but was taken to hospital by ambulance and kept in overnight for X-rays and treatment for concussion.

It is thought the 25-year-old was taking part in a pub crawl, known as the Otley Run, when he was hit outside the Dry Dock pub. The fly-half was wearing face-paint and fancy dress for the annual event.

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The Sun said the accident happened at the end of a "marathon drinking session" and reported that the "bus screeched to a halt and had its windscreen shattered when the England and Sale Sharks fly-half was hit".

Cipriani's manager James Williamson told the paper: "He's obviously in pain. He was running across the road and just misjudged the speed of the bus."

One witness told the Leeds Student newspaper: "It was like a film, [the bus passengers] were all shook up and screaming." Other witnesses told the paper that he and his Sale team mates had been running in the road before the accident.

Some of the team mates had tweeted about going on the Otley Run, a pub crawl consisting of as many as 19 pubs in Leeds. The Dry Dock is said to be the final port of call on the route.

Cipriani joined Sale in February 2012 after returning from a spell playing Super 15 rugby with Australian side Melbourne Rebels. He has been dogged by disciplinary problems throughout his career: he was dropped by England on the eve of his debut in 2008 after being seen at a nightclub,and fell foul of the Melbourne Rebels management on more than once occasion.