A SELF-EMPLOYED joiner was killed when he was struck by a taxi as he returned to a pub after forgetting his cigarettes.

Grandfather Jack Sharrock suffered serious head injuries in the collision outside the Royal Oak pub on Wigan Road, Leigh.

A Bolton inquest heard how Mr Sharrock, who also lived on Wigan Road, had been drinking in the pub with his wife Kathleen shortly before the accident in February.

He left the pub at around 10pm with his wife and crossed Wigan Road to buy a pizza from a takeaway food store opposite.

Realising he had left his cigarettes on a table in the pub, Mr Sharrock set off back across the road, crossing opposite a parked private hire minibus which had stopped outside the Royal Oak.

Another private hire vehicle was making its way along Wigan Road at the same time, and its driver, Michael Hutt, had noticed the stationary minibus outside the pub.

As Mr Hutt attempted to negotiate his way around the parked vehicle, he became aware of Mr Sharrock crossing the road.

Mr Sharrock upped his pace to a brisk walk at the same time, and continued in his path in front of the oncoming vehicle. He was hit and was thrown into the front of the pub.

Witness Albert Smith, who had been in the takeaway pizza shop at the time said that Mr Sharrock was only one yard from the pavement when he was hit.

Emergency services were called, but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Wigan Infirmary.

Pathologist Stephen Mills said that Mr Sharrock, aged 57, would have lost consciousness almost immediately.

Greater Manchester Police Accident Investigator Paul Booth said that tests had shown that the Citroen Berlingo had been travelling at a speed of 29mph upon impact in a 30mph speed limit zone.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Jennifer Leeming said that traffic safety measures needed to be improved on Wigan Road, as there had been two fatal accidents on that stretch this year.