A DRUNKEN man was accidentally run over and killed as he lay in the middle of a road, an inquest has heard.

Yesterday Bournemouth Coroner’s Court was told that 29-year-old Stefan Noyce, of Stoborough, was four-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit when he was involved in a fatal collision with a white Mazda on the South Causeway, near Wareham, on June 16 last year.

Assistant coroner Richard Middleton heard from a series of witnesses who had seen Mr Noyce drinking Sambuca shots and Jägermeisters at the Antelope Inn and Black Bear in the hours leading up to his death.

He had seemed in “high spirits” before being involved in a fight with an unidentified man, who had “kicked him in the head” and left him bleeding, the inquest also heard.

The court was told resident Liam Farmer found Mr Noyce lying on the pavement on South Street, Wareham, in an intoxicated and unconscious state at around 12.15am.

Mr Farmer said he woke Mr Noyce and offered to call a taxi for him – an offer Mr Noyce declined, the court heard – before watching him walk towards Stoborough and losing sight of him as he entered the unlit portion of the road.

Mr Farmer said he then saw two cars drive past “in a normal way”, adding: “Then I heard a thud and the screech of brakes.”

The Mazda 121 involved in the crash was being driven by 18-year-old Chelcie Hunt as she travelled to visit her boyfriend in Stoborough, the court heard.

Ms Hunt said during a police interview, which was read out at the hearing, that she had not seen Mr Noyce in the road prior to the accident.

“I was driving along and then when I got to the dark bit, where there are no lights in the road, I felt like I had gone over something,” she said.

“I thought I had just hit an animal or something.”

A witness driving behind Ms Hunt said she was driving within the 30mph speed limit and police tests showed Mr Noyce would have been illuminated by the car headlights for just one second in the moments before the collision on the unlit road.

A statement from forensic pathologist Dr Basil Purdue said Mr Noyce’s fatal head injuries suggested he was lying on the ground when he was hit and the 328mg of alcohol in his blood would have left him in a state of “extreme drunkenness”.

He added that there was no evidence any injuries sustained earlier in the evening had contributed to his unconscious state. Mr Middleton said Mr Noyce’s dark clothing and the unlit road may have been additional factors, adding he was satisfied Ms Hunt had been driving carefully and was not speeding.

He concluded Mr Noyce died “as a result of a very tragic collision”.