A PENSIONER, who had put her house up for sale so that she could relocate to her homeland of Ireland, died days after stepping out in front of a car, an inquest heard.

Kathleen Spurling, aged 83, of Cartwright Street, had an operation after fracturing her leg when she collided with the wing mirror of a car on Lovely Lane on June 27 last year.

Doctors then discovered that Mrs Spurling had a hernia problem, and after another operation she was admitted to the intensive care unit at Warrington Hospital, where she died on July 7.

Warrington Coroner's Court heard last Thursday that on the day of the collision, Susan Burton, of Densham Avenue in Longford, was driving her Ford Fiesta along Lovely Lane just after 3pm.

She noticed Mrs Spurling - who had found a house that she wanted to buy in Ireland - standing in the middle of the road, and slowed down her car.

Mrs Burton said: "I think she must have come from the side of the road where the Brooklands pub is, but had turned around because she had her back to me.

"I thought she would have had time to get across before I got there if she wanted to, but right at the last minute she turned and stepped out."

Gary Williams, who was travelling behind Mrs Burton in a van, said that he saw Mrs Spurling spin around as the car's wing mirror hit her.

In a police interview, Mrs Burton admitted driving unsupervised while having only a provisional licence. However, a police investigation concluded that she had reacted to the situation as soon as possible and had insufficient time to do anything else.

Pathologist Dr Emma Rhead said she did not believe that the accident could have caused the hernia complication, but it would have made it more unlikely that she would have survived the operation.

A post-mortem examination concluded that Mrs Spurling died from multi-organ failure. Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg gave a verdict of death by natural causes, to which trauma following a road traffic collision and the subsequent fixation operation contributed.