A motorcyclist was killed after losing control of his bike when a car looked as if it would turn across his path on the A2 at Bapchild, an inquest heard.

Andrew Beaney, who was known as Billy, died after colliding with a Volkswagen Jetta at the junction with Hempstead Lane at 10.10am on Sunday, September 6 last year.

An inquest at The Archbishop’s Palace in Maidstone today heard that the 51-year-old, of Fox Hill, Bapchild, had been on his way to visit his father’s grave, as he routinely did on a Sunday.

The driver of the Volkswagen, George Castle, who was heading towards Sittingbourne, told how he had intended to turn right from the A2 into Hempstead Lane when the collision happened.

Mr Beaney, a retail manager who was married with four children, had been travelling in the opposite direction on his 650cc Suzuki, having just refuelled at the nearby petrol station.

When asked whether he had seen anything coming, Mr Castle said: “Not until I was going to turn.”

At that point, he said, he saw a bike which had “snaked” before colliding with his vehicle, throwing the rider off.

Before then, he added, his view of the motorcycle had been obscured by a yellow bollard on a traffic island in the middle of the road, although the hearing also heard he had told police immediately after the crash that he had been aware of a bike in the distance.

Witnesses reported seeing Mr Castle approach the junction at a reasonable speed and position his vehicle as if to turn right.

PC Duncan Swallow, of the Kent Police serious collision investigation unit, said the Volkswagen had gone no more than 80cms over the central white line.

A skid mark on the road revealed Mr Beaney had “applied maximum braking” causing the wheel to lock, he added.

Asked whether speed was a factor, PC Swallow said the investigation had revealed the Suzuki must have been doing a minimum of 38mph in the 30mph limit.

“Had Mr Beaney been travelling at the speed limit and if he had braked and the bike had fallen over, or if the bike had not fallen over, in both scenarios the impact (with the Volkswagen) would not have occurred,” he added.

PC Swallow said he could not say whether the traffic bollard would have obscured Mr Castle’s view.

"The tragedy of this case is had Mr Beaney been going slightly slower, even if he had applied emergency braking, he would not have collided with the car" - coroner Kate Thomas

Summing up, assistant Mid Kent and Medway coroner Kate Thomas said a post-mortem examination had revealed Mr Beaney died from multiple injuries.

She said she was of the view that as Mr Beaney approached the junction he saw Mr Castle starting to turn and had applied “emergency braking”, in anticipation of the vehicle turning in front of him, and lost control.

“The tragedy of this case is had Mr Beaney been going slightly slower, even if he had applied emergency braking, he would not have collided with the car,” she continued.

“That’s not to say Mr Beaney was speeding, although he was going over the speed limit, there wasn’t evidence to say he was going over 38mph.”

Earlier, the inquest had heard him described as an experienced rider who loved his bike.

Ms Thomas concluded that Mr Beaney had died as the result of a road traffic accident, adding: “This is a tragic accident and I can see he was much-loved by his family.”