A PENSIONER died after walking into oncoming traffic on a busy Hampshire road.

An inquest heard that George Ackrill ignored traffic lights and walked across the 50mph westbound stretch of the A35 in Totton into the path of a bus.

The driver managed to slow from 33 to two miles-per-hour, but was unable to avoid the collision at around 11.20am on September 11 last year, just prior to the Rushington Roundabout.

The 83-year-old later died at Southampton General Hospital from a severe skull fracture and brain haemorrhage. He also had fractured ribs and a collapsed lung.

Mr Ackrill, of Beaulieu Road in Dibden Purlieu, suffered a motorbike accident in 1955, aged 23, which led to him to have hearing loss and sight problems.

Giving evidence, Julie Cavaney, the bus driver, said she tried to move lanes to avoid the pensioner but couldn't due to other vehicles, so had no choice but to try to emergency stop.

“I didn't want to hit him,” she said.

“I wanted to avoid that as much as I could. I didn't see him look or even see what was coming. There was nothing else to do apart from braking.”

Following the incident the single-deck bus was examined along with its dashboard CCTV footage, which showed when Mr Ackrill stepped into the road the bus was only 30 metres away.

Miss Cavaney was held in a police cell on the day of the incident and questioned.

At the inquest Sgt Adrienne Jerram, senior investigation officer, said the driver was “not to blame” and the charges were dropped.

Deputy coroner for central Hampshire, Simon Burge, ruled a verdict of accidental death.

He said: “She very nearly stopped the bus in time... she must not blame herself. There's nothing else that could have been done.”