A SELF-employed plumbing and heating engineer from Colerne died at Southmead Hospital in Bristol ten days after hitting a Muntjac deer and colliding with a Cotswold drystone wall, an inquest was told on Wednesday (25 July).

Paul Anthony Honeybun, 53, suffered multiple head injuries in the 6.40am crash on May 12, including a traumatic brain injury that ultimately proved fatal.

The inquest in Salisbury was told he had left home at 6.25am in his silver Volvo to take his daughter Rebecca Honeybun to work.

As they drove along the unclassified road from Colerne towards Ford his daughter noticed the small Muntjac deer on the near side verge about to cross the road near Lucknam Park.

In a statement, she said: "I don't think Dad saw the deer because he carried on straight."

The inquest was told Mr Honeybun hit the deer, which ended up on the bonnet of his car, and the vehicle swerved first to the right and then to the left.

He lost control of his Volvo when it began to rotate clockwise and crashed into a tree and a Cotswold drystone wall, leaving Mr Honeybun unconscious and bleeding heavily from his head injuries.

Mr Honeybun, of Forrester Green, Colerne, was rushed by ambulance to Southmead Hospital at Westbury on Trym to be treated.

But CT scans during the next few days showed he had suffered a traumatic brain injury from which he was unlikely to recover and ten days later on May 22 specialists and his family took the decision to turn off his life support.

PC Simon Wilson, of Gloucestershire Police, said he had inspected the crash scene and had found the Muntjac deer dead on the opposite side of the road to where Mr Honeybun's car ended up.

The car had hit the deer just after a right-hand bend and there was damage to the front offside corner where the vehicle had hit the drystone wall.

The inquest was told Mr Honeybun had managed to control the vehicle during the swerving but lost control when it started to rotate.

Ian Singleton, the assistant coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, returned a narrative verdict, saying Mr Honeybun died from a traumatic brain injury as a result of the road traffic collision.

The coroner said: "Paul hit the deer and tried to control the vehicle but it started to rotate clockwise.

"His car collided with the drystone wall, causing the injuries that led to his death."