AN inquest has been held into the death of a young father killed while riding a micro-scooter along the Upton Bypass.

Daniel Robbie, 23, was hit by delivery driver Matthew James' van on September 14 last year.

His body was found a day afterwards by a family friend, concealed in undergrowth next to the road.

The inquest, which took place just days before the first anniversary of his death, heard Mr Robbie had been out drinking the night before and gone back to Sturminster Marshall with friend, Samuel Watt.

Toxicology tests showed the father-of-three was 1.5 times over the legal drink drive limit and had traces of cannabis in his system.

It was not possible to determine whether he had used the drug recently, Home Office pathologist Dr Russell Delaney said.

A statement read to Bournemouth Coroners Court from Mr Watt, who was the last person to see Mr Robbie, said they did not drink any more alcohol or do any drugs at the house.

He said around 4.30am, Mr Robbie “got the hump” and wanted to go home, finding a micro-scooter to make the journey back to Bournemouth.

Witnesses driving along the dark road early in the morning, described seeing Mr Robbie, with one lorry driver Geoffrey McIntosh saying he was in the road before moving back across to the left hand side.

Other witnesses say he was close to the verge, but due to the conditions he was only visible at the 'last minute'.

Matthew James, the driver of the van which collided with Mr Robbie, initially thought he had collided with a badger.

His windscreen was damaged and the wing mirror also broken, the inquest heard.

It wasn't until he got to work and saw the extent of the damage that he realised it was something bigger.

In interview transcripts read by Detective Constable Richard Wynn, he said Mr James got back into his work van, as his vehicle was damaged, and drove back along the road but couldn't see anything.

In his second interview with officers, Mr James said he was looking in his right hand wing mirror at the point of impact.

Specialist collision investigator PC John Hayward said it would have been very difficult to see Mr Robbie due to the dark and vegetation at the side of the road.

“The closer Mr Robbie would have been to that (vegetation), the harder he would be to see. The evidence points to him being closer to the verge rather than the middle of lane one”, he added.

Four drivers seen on CCTV at the time of the collision also said they had not seen him.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Sherriff Payne described Mr Robbie's decision to walk along the road as “foolish”.

He said he had “no doubt his behaviour was affected by alcohol and possibly with a combination of cannabis”, although he conceded it was unclear when he had used it.

“It may have affected his judgement”, he added.

Speaking after the inquest, Daniel's mother, Julie Croucher said it had been a “horrendous year”.

They will be marking the first anniversary of his death as a family, she added.

Driver Matthew James was found guilty of failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident earlier this year.

He was handed a 12-week prison term, suspended for 12months along with 180 hours of unpaid work, a six-month driving ban, £1,000 in costs and an £80 victim surcharge.

The sentence was slammed by Mr Robbie's family, who branded James a “coward”.