A mother-of-two who died after her car fell from a flyover before crashing 35ft to the ground had not been wearing a seat belt, an inquest heard.

Deborah Ann Wheeler died from multiple injuries after her Ford Galaxy people carrier smashed through crash barriers on the A31 over the River Itchen near Alresford in April this year.

Eye witnesses to the collision told the inquest in Winchester how the car came through the protective barriers before falling - almost as though in slow motion.

Henrietta Lucas had been walking her dog in a field just 250m away from the 12m-high flyover just east of the Lady Croft Farm roundabout outside New Alresford, when the incident happened.

She told Central Hampshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Richard Charter: "I saw an object fall from the bridge."

What she had seen was the bridge crash barrier breaking off just moments before the car itself went through the gap.

Ms Lucas rushed over to the car and described how Mrs Wheeler, 38, from Fair View Close in Romsey, was still alive when she got there.

She added: "I gave a man my handkerchief so he could dry the lady's eyes."

Another witness, forest worker Michael Reeves, had been sitting by the River Itchen not far from the flyover.

He said: "I heard a metal smashing noise and saw a large van-shaped vehicle coming through the flyover. It all seemed to be happening so slowly."

Alan Farwell, Hampshire County Council's chief structural engineer, was also called to give evidence about the condition of the crash barriers. He told the inquest how they had been checked the year before and were found to be in a good condition.

Hampshire Constabulary forensic traffic investigator PC Alan Price said that there were no mechanical faults with the vehicle. It was his impression that Ms Wheeler had been travelling at a speed 'considerably greater then 50mph' and had not been wearing a seat belt.

He said the tyre marks left on the road indicated she had swerved sharply before the crash, though whether that had been caused by inattention or by trying to miss an animal could not be determined.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.