INQUESTS have been opened into the deaths of two men in road traffic incidents in Hampshire.

Central Hampshire coroner Grahame Short heard that Antony Welling, 60, from Hertfordshire, died in a crash on the M3 near Eastleigh on January 3.

He was driving his Expert Logistics 7.5 tonne Mercedes when it hit the central reservation at junction 13 of the M3 southbound near Eastleigh on Saturday afternoon.
The 60-year-old, of Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, was taken to Southampton General Hospital by ambulance but later died.
His passenger, a 45-year-old man from Essex, was also taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Timothy Barfoot, 41, of Shakespeare Road, Eastleigh died when his Suzuki motorbike was in collision with a BMW on the B2177 near Waltham Chase on January 2.

He was flung from his bike into a nearby river from where he was rescued by an off-duty police officer, but he despite efforts to save him he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Short heard that both men died of severe abdominal injuries.

Both inquests were adjourned for a full hearing at a later date.