AN ELDERLY man was killed when his car crossed a carriageway and hit another vehicle head-on, an inquest heard.

Reginald Inskip, 81, of Court Road, Ross-on-Wye, died in the hospital the day after he crashed his white Nissan into a grey Skoda on the B4224 near Hampton Bishop.

An inquest held at Hereford Town Hall on Monday found that on November 30, for an 'unknown' reason Mr Inskip lost control of his car before the collision which had a combined speed of 100 miles per hour.

Mr Inskip suffered severe injuries including multiple rib and pelvic fractures and died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on December 1.

Herefordshire Coroner Mark Bricknell said that before the incident Mr Inskip's driving had been described as "of concern" to other road users for 10 miles leading up the crash.

He said: "I don't know whether the loss of control was due to fatigue or unknown factors.

"I know he was generally unwell although there is nothing to suggest a medical incident occurred prior to the accident.

"He did travel across the carriageway and despite the work of paramedics and hospital staff unfortunately he died the following day.

"I conclude he died from a road traffic collision."

Dr Matthew Byrne, of the Queens Elizabeth Hospital, said his injuries were 'not survivable'.

Trudy Davies, was travelling behind Mr Inskip and was concerned about the manner of his driving.

She said: "As he got over the Mordiford bridge he started to swerve and hit the verge on the near side before going onto the wrong side of the road.

"At this point my husband became alarmed and said 'he is having a heart attack back off'."

"After going past the Bunch of Carrots pub we went around a left hand turn and saw the Nissan facing towards us and a grey car which had a huge amount of damage."

Paramedic John Murray said that on arrival at the scene the female driver of the other car was sat on grass verge on one side and had suffered minor chest injuries.

Sophie Macey, the Skoda driver, said Mr Inskip's car mounted the grass verge before coming onto her side of the road.

"It had no intention of stopping," she added. "There was nothing I could have done."