THE grieving family of a grandfather knocked down and killed by a high-performance sports car near his Southampton home has hit out at the failure to prosecute the driver.

An inquest was told yesterday how Laurence Griffiths' horrific injuries were in line with someone hit by a car travelling at motorway speeds.

The 55-year-old computer programmer had been walking on a pavement by Bassett Avenue, which has a 40mph speed limit, after taking a screen break.

He died when Ronald Griffiths, who is not related to the victim, lost control of his Maserati Coupe as he travelled along the northbound carriageway.

Ronald Griffiths, 57, told the hearing he was driving at around 40mph and his vehicle spun out of control when he swerved to avoid a car that cut in front of him.

Police found the body of Mr Griffiths in bushes by the road shortly after the collision

Ronald Griffiths said he did not even know he had hit anyone until he was told after the incident when he was sat in an ambulance at the scene. He and his wife, Patricia, who had been travelling in the car with him, were arrested afterwards on suspicion of dangerous driving but they were later released without charge. A breath test proved negative.

Rachel Griffiths, 23, the daughter of the victim, who lived in Bassett Row, said: "My dad will never see me walk down the aisle or ever see my children.

"The Crown Prosecution Service need to be more answerable, I can't believe no one will be prosecuted. The witness statements in the inquest said he was doing more than 40mph. My dad was walking along the pavement near his home, you would have thought that would be a safe place to be."

She added the family would decide in the coming days whether to launch a civil claim against the driver over the death.

Ronald Griffiths told the Southampton hearing how he had to swerve into the southbound carriageway moments before the accident to avoid a Smart car which cut in front of him.

He said: "To avoid a collision I swerved out of the way, but unfortunately this took me onto the southbound carriageway."

He told how he then swerved back into the northbound carriageway but moments later his car spun out of control, mounted a kerb and hit trees.

Statements read out at the hearing by two motorists who were also travelling along the road said they believed Ronald Griffiths may have been travelling at more than 40mph.

PC Stephen Hughes, who investigated the accident, said he believed the car was travelling at more than the 40mph limit due to the damage caused to the car, marks on the kerb and the severity of the injuries suffered by Mr Griffiths.

Home Office Pathologist Dr Allen Anscombe said Mr Griffiths' fatal injuries were typical of those suffered when people are hit at motorway speeds.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Southampton deputy coroner Gordon Denson said he believed Ronald Griffiths' account that he lost control of his vehicle after trying to avoid a collision with a car.

David Renwick, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said they advised police there was not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.

He added: "This was a very tragic incident and my sympathy goes out to Mr Griffiths' family."