A WARNING has been issued after two pedestrians died within a few miles of each other after they had been drinking.

Following two separate inquests held at Winchester Coroner’s Court involving two men hit by vehicles on the A31, senior coroner Grahame Short issued a warning about the danger of drinking and walking on a main road at night.

This comes after the court heard how Gregory Prince was pronounced dead at the scene after being struck by a Volkswagen Polo on the A31 at Poulner Hill shortly before 10pm on August 2.

The court heard how the driver, Shelby Thomas, was travelling at around 70mph when she hit the 32-year-old lorry driver, from Leeds, but in a statement, said she did not see him in the carriageway.

Coroner Mr Short said he did not call Ms Thomas to give evidence due to the traumatic effect the collision had on her.

Daily Echo:

The inquest heard Ms Thomas, a finance analyst for JP Morgan, was driving in the outside lane of the westbound carriageway, heading down Poulner Hill towards Ringwood, and had been overtaking a car driven by witness Emma Creed.

Ms Creed, from Southbourne, Bournemouth, said: “Suddenly, out of completely nowhere, I was aware that there was a man on the right-hand side of my bonnet [in the centre of the carriageway].

“It was like everything stopped, everything slowed down even though it was a split second.

“The first thing I was aware of was the noise, it was almost like a grenade going off.”

Investigator PC Antony Clifford added that Ms Thomas “would not have been able to avoid the collision”.

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The inquest also heard from Tracy Brawn of the The White Hart Inn in Poulner, who said Mr Prince had been drinking there for a number of hours.

A toxicology report revealed he was nearly 2.4 times the drink-drive limit at the time of his death.

Recording a conclusion of death due to a road traffic collision, senior coroner Grahame Short was unable to work out why Mr Prince had been crossing the road.

Mr Short also recorded a conclusion of death due to a road traffic collision at the end of the inquest into the death of landscape gardener Nigel Andrews.

During the inquest, the court was told the 46-year-old of Whitehart Fields, Ringwood, was walking on the A31 eastbound carriageway before he was hit by a Vauxhall van at near-midnight on June 18.

Daily Echo:

The inquest heard how Nigel had been drinking in the afternoon prior to his death. A toxicology report revealed he was 2.3 times the drink-drive limit at the time of his death.

The driver of the van, Christian Black, a security guard manager employed by Bournemouth-based company Allied Facilities, was within the 70mph speed limit and was not impaired to drive, the court was told.

Mr Short said Nigel was in the process of walking home but it was not clear where from. It was dark and he was wearing dark clothing.

“It is not a safe place to walk even if you are sober. This is the second inquest this week involving a pedestrian under alcohol being hit at night. People who are walking are even more vulnerable to accidents and death after consuming alcohol. I think that message is very clear.”