A CAREFREE man, who was knocked down on his way home from the pub, died as a result of an accident, an inquest heard.

Geoffrey Benson, aged 51, of St Mary's Street, Latchford, died of a head injury at Warrington Hospital on November 8 last year.

He died the day after being hit by a red Chevrolet Corvette car on Mersey Street, at around 9pm.

Mr Benson, who was not married, had just left the Last Orders pub on Bridge Street, where he worked, having had a few drinks with friends.

Katherine Dunning, landlady of the Last Orders, said: "He was a carefree person and never seemed to worry about anything."

The inquest heard from a witness, who reported seeing Mr Benson walking down Mersey Street and described him as being 'a bit tipsy'.

Kevin Deeley, the driver of the American sports car that collided with Mr Benson, said that he was slowing down because there were traffic lights ahead.

Mr Deeley, who owns the First Class Health Club, on Liverpool Road, said: "As I was starting to slow down this person just appeared in the road. I tried to swerve to miss him but I just caught him with the front side of my car."

A post-mortem examination revealed that Mr Benson died as a result of his head hitting the road.

PC Karl Williamson, a collision investigator, said that a number of things could have happened but that there were many imponderables in the case.

He said it was possible that Mr Benson had staggered into the car, that he was distracted while lighting his cigarette (which was found at the scene) and then walked into the oncoming car, or that the driver did not see him crossing the road because of street lighting.

Nicholas Rheinberg, Cheshire coroner, said: "I am satisfied that the collision was an unintended event: an event that it is correct to describe as an accident."

Mr Benson's twin sister, Sheila German, who lives in Cumbria, also attended the inquest.