SUN glare could have affected the driver of a car that fatally collided with a pensioner with a walking stick, an inquest heard.

James Jamieson was crossing Worting Road, near the Morrisons supermarket, when he was struck by a car driven by Baughurst woman Leigh Fuller.

The 82-year-old, of Attwood Close, Kings Furlong, Basingstoke, suffered fractured ribs and a broken shoulder, and was taken to Basingstoke hospital, where he died just over two weeks after the tragic accident.

Mrs Fuller told an inquest at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court that she would not give evidence about what happened moments before the crash, having taken legal advice.

This was a normal and acceptable stance to take, Mr Jamieson’s family was told by North East Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley.

However, Mrs Fuller did say that she was on her way to work at Basingstoke College of Technology that morning, on Friday, August 29, heading east along Worting Road.

PC Ed Wilson, a forensic crash investigator at Hampshire Constabulary, said CCTV cameras on a building in Worting Road captured the fatal collision on film.

He said as part of his investigations, he drove eastbound along Worting Road, just as Mrs Fuller had, in similar weather conditions and at the same time of day.

PC Wilson said he was dazzled by a low sun just before the crossing point where Mr Jamieson had entered the road which made objects ahead of him “extremely difficult to define”.

He also said the CCTV footage revealed Mr Jamieson had chosen to cross the road when his view of the eastbound carriageway was blocked by a car in the westbound carriageway.

The inquest heard the CCTV film indicated Mrs Fuller’s car was travelling fractionally over the 30mph speed limit, at 30.4mph.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Bradley called the crash “the most appalling accident”.

He said: “It’s quite clear that Mrs Fuller is driving along Worting Road, and she does so in perfectly normal fashion when she’s confronted by the sun. She’s dazzled by that and before she could do anything she strikes Mr Jamieson.

“For his part, he waits by the roadside until a red car passes and he then steps out on to the road.”