A MOTORIST faces court action after her car collided with two Lancaster road workers - killing one of them.

Hala men Paul Bettany and his friend Marcus Bryce were carrying out surface repairs to Rotherham Road in Derbyshire, when the January 3 collision occurred.

Mr Bettany, 23, of Slaidburn Drive was struck by Carol Walton's Volkswagen Polo and died from serious head injuries.

Mr Bryce, 29, was sent flying into a verge but survived the crash, a Chesterfield inquest jury has heard.

Mrs Walton, of Portland Street, New Houghton, said she was driving quite slowly but was blinded by sunshine. She sobbed as she said she hadn't seen the roadmen prior to the collision. Coroner Tom Kelly said court proceedings were pending against her.

The inquest heard that barriers, cones and warning signs had not been placed on the road before work commenced. The equipment was in a vehicle which had been sent to fetch more bitumen, as there was insufficient tar available to do the job.

Gary O'Connor, in charge of the gang, said he had told Mr Bettany to heat up the boiler and wait for the truck to return with more bitumen. He then drove away to look for other repair jobs further down the road.

But Mr Bryce - starting his first day at work for Derby-based sub-contractors AMH - told police that Mr Bettany heated up some bitumen and said: "Let's get cracking."

He stated that Mr Bettany had cursed the oversight regarding the absent barriers but began pouring bitumen with his back to traffic. Mr Bryce felt uneasy as traffic passed close by and had joked to Mr Bettany about the possibility of being hit.

He added: "I was totally engrossed in my work. Then I heard a sound like a gasp and all I saw was the sky, trees and then the footpath. I saw a woman standing by her car screaming and Paul was laying 15ft or so in front of her car."

Mr Bryce, of Grissingham Drive, had known Mr Bettany since his schooldays. He did not attend the inquest.

Mrs Jean Marriott, of Portland Street, New Houghton, told the jury she was walking a dog at 10am when Mr Bettany fell into the road in front of her. She flagged down a council lorry and asked the driver to call paramedics. A motorist who stopped at the crash scene, Andrew Seals, said a low sun had caused terrible visibility for drivers.

Police accident investigator Philip Milton believed Mrs Walton was travelling within the 30mph limit when her car hit Mr Bettany from behind on a long left-hand bend. He reconstructed her journey in similar conditions and concluded that, although the brightness of the sun was a factor in the collision, Mr Bettany would have been in her field of vision for at least 100 metres before impact.

The jury returned an accidental death verdict on Mr Bettany