An 84-year-old Dartford grandfather was killed after stepping out in front of a car on a busy road, an inquest has heard.

William Henry Blowey, who lived at Chancery Court in Downs Avenue was killed after being hit by a silver Volvo S40 on July 1.

An inquest, held at Gravesend's Old Town Hall on November 13, heard Mr Blowey, a former engineer, had been standing on a traffic island waiting to cross Park Road before he was killed at 9.10am.

Giving evidence, witnesses Suzanne Brady of Newington Walk and Frances Foreman, who lives in Surrey described seeing an "elderly gentleman" with a walking stick standing on the island.

Mrs Foreman said: "I was about 20 yards away when I first saw him.

"After I went by him I was keeping an eye on him in the rear view mirror - I don't know why, it's just one of those things.

"I think I saw his legs go up in the air.

"The car behind that had hit him stopped and the car behind that.

"I carried on, I didn't want to see what I knew I was going to see."

Babatunde Disu, the driver of the silver Volvo that hit Mr Blowey, told the inquest he had seen him on the traffic island before he "suddenly" stepped out in front of him.

Mr Disu, who had been driving along Park Road after dropping his children off at school, said he had been travelling between 20 and 25 mph when he hit Mr Blowey.

He described how he had seen the grandfather waiting on the traffic island as two cars passed him before stepping out in front of Mr Disu's car.

Mr Disu said: "They were no more than two car lengths in front of me.

"Suddenly, he stepped out in front of me.

"I swerved and went up on to the island to avoid him, when I saw him in the road I jumped out of the car and ran towards him."

Mr Disu also told the inquest Mr Blowey had been "looking straight ahead" when he stepped into the road.

Investigating officer, Police Sargeant Hannah Brown from the Kent Police Serious Collision Unit said there was insufficient evidence at the scene to determine the speed Mr Disu had been travelling before the accident.

Coroner Roger Hatch told the inquest a post-mortem examination concluded Mr Blowey died from head injuries.