A WIDOW had told of how a moment's careless driving by a motorist cost her husband his life.

Karen Prince, 43, is now urging drivers to be more aware of cyclists after her husband Kevin was knocked off his bike by a lorry that was trying to overtake him.

Last September the driver of that lorry, Geoffrey Adams, 53, from Essex, was fined £500 and given nine points on his licence after admitting a charge of careless driving.

Yesterday an inquest into Mr Prince's death heard how the father of two had been finishing off his morning delivery round as a postal worker in Gosport when he was knocked off his bike in Brockhurst Road.

Witnesses described seeing an articulated lorry squeeze Mr Prince, 43, of Rowner Lane, Gosport, against the kerbside, causing him to lose control of his bike and fall under the wheels of the lorry.

Crash expert Stanley Gibbs suggested Mr Prince was left no more than 70cm in which to steer his bike on the morning of April 22 last year.

He said: "The nub of this incident is why the driver of the lorry appears to have been oblivious and not afforded enough space as the vehicle was overtaking."

Portsmouth coroner David Horsley also heard from Mr Prince's colleague Lorraine Hardy, who was cycling behind him when the accident happened. She said: "The lorry was making contact with him, as if it was pushing him, down his right side.

"He (Mr Prince) put his hand on the side of the lorry. He seemed to want to bang the lorry so it would pull away from him."

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Horsley said: "I believe the accident was due to inattention and not a deliberate attempt to interfere with Kevin's cycle."

After the hearing Mrs Prince, 43, whose eldest son Dean, 20, is also a postman, said: "It was a split second but it ruined our lives. Sometimes I see drivers on their phones or eating and it makes me so angry I just want to beep my horn and tell them to pay attention.

"Our sons have their 18th and 21st birthdays coming up this year and Kev would have been so sorry to have missed them."