AN 85-year-old grandmother died in hospital from serious injuries after she had tried to cross a main road in Prestwich, an inquest heard.

Mrs Annie Loughrey died on January 8 this year following a collision with a Ford Fiesta in Bury Old Road, near its junction with Orange Hill Road.

Bury Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday how the elderly widow was standing in the middle of the road waiting to cross when the car, driven by 84-year-old Patrick McCarthy, struck her.

Mr Dudley Mears, of Pine Street, Bury, was travelling to work that morning and witnessed the incident.

He said: "It was rush hour so the traffic was bumper to bumper and I saw a little lady, with her head down, crossing slowly from the opposite side towards a bus stop. She didn't seem to be observing the traffic.

"The car came around the bend and just kept coming until it hit her. I don't think he saw her until it was too late."

Mrs Loughrey was treated at the scene by a passing GP, Surinder Jolly, before being taken to North Manchester General Hospital where she died later that same day.

The hearing was told Mrs Loughrey suffered a fractured leg and skull which resulted in a brain haemorrhage, causing her death.

Sergeant Stuart Comerford, from the accident investigation unit, told the court Mrs Loughrey would have been visible to drivers from 80 metres. If the car was travelling at the speed limit of 30mph, the driver would have had less than six seconds to react.

Mr McCarthy, who lives in Whitefield, told police in an interview read out in court that he never drove at more than 30mph and had been driving slowly that day. He said Mrs Loughrey suddenly ran out into the road and fell, but his car never hit her.

After hearing the evidence, Coroner Simon Nelson decided to adjourn the inquest following the absence of two key witnesses.

Mrs Loughrey, who lived at Sealand House, Bury Old Road, was described by her only daughter, Mrs Maureen Whitehead, as an "energetic and lively individual" who enjoyed her independence and regularly travelled to her home on the Metrolink as well as taking trips to London by herself to visit her cousin.

Before adjourning the inquest, Mr Nelson said: "Mrs Loughrey appears to have been a very independent lady with many fine attributes. I would hope that her family will be able to move on and remember her and those attributes as she would have wished to have been remembered."

The inquest will resume at a date yet to be fixed.