A YOUNG father was killed as he rode a child’s micro-scooter along a major trunk road by a driver who failed to report the collision, a court has heard.

Daniel Robbie, of Throop Close in Bournemouth, was struck by a Toyota van as he travelled along the Upton Bypass on Saturday, September 14 last year, the hearing was told.

The 23-year-old, who had been returning home from a property in Sturminster Marshall in the early hours of the morning, was thrown into woodland beside the bypass following the collision.

The driver of the van – Matthew James, of Stoneylawn in Winterborne Kingston – denies failing to stop at the scene of an accident, and failing to report an accident, in connection with the incident.

The defendant, 27, acknowledged a collision, but said he had no idea he had struck a person.

Mr Robbie was wearing black trainers, jeans and a hoodie as he rode along the bypass on the scooter.

The collision happened around 45 minutes before dawn.

Charles Nightingale, prosecuting, said “significant damage” was caused to the Toyota in the crash, including a partially-shattered windscreen, and one wing-mirror was knocked off.

“The defendant went to his place of work and parked the vehicle [following the collision],” he said.

“He then returned to the scene in a different car and he says he drove by with the hazard lights on at around 10 miles per hour and saw nothing.

There was nobody there, no vehicle there. The Crown says he cannot have looked properly or he would have seen vehicle debris and a micro-scooter.”

The body of Mr Robbie was discovered by a family member more than 32 hours after he left Sturminster Marshall, partially concealed by undergrowth.

The trial, at Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court, continues.