A LIFELONG Dorset resident and grandmother was killed when her husband pulled out in front of a coach on the A37.

On Wednesday, an inquest at Bournemouth Coroner's Court heard the Volvo coach was exceeding the speed limit at the time of the crash last year, which left 80-year-old Sheila Staples - the mother-in-law of BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell - with fatal injuries.

Mrs Staples was the front seat passenger in a Mitsubishi driven by her husband Clifford when he attempted to traverse the main road at Holywell Cross, near Evershot, at around midday on May 13.

Police investigator Constable Kelvin Edge said tyre marks suggested the coach was travelling at between 53mph and 60mph at the time emergency braking began, over the class limit of 50mph.

Had it been travelling at the limit, he said, it might have hit the rear of the car rather than the passenger side, causing less severe injuries.

After the hearing, Mrs Staples' daughter Maria Witchell said: "This illustrates how creeping just a little bit over the speed limit can have tragic consequences.

"Mum was a very caring and compassionate woman and a pillar of the community. She was much respected and much loved."

In a statement read to the court, Mr Staples, 83, said he had thought he had enough time to turn into the southbound lane in front of the coach.

Several drivers stopped at the scene to help the couple, including a doctor and a nurse, but Mrs Staples never regained consciousness.

Coach driver Alyson Jones told the court she had not applied the brakes as she approached the car as she believed the driver was waiting to let the traffic past.

"As I got to the bottom he just pulled out in front of me," she said.

The court heard Ms Jones had lost her daughter in a crash on the A37, and after she had given evidence Mr Witchell said: "We understand how traumatic and upsetting this has been for you and extend our sympathies."

Coroner Sheriff Payne recorded that Mrs Staples was killed in a road accident.

She was married to her husband for 58 years and they lived on a dairy farm at Birdsmoorgate near Marshwood.

The family also expressed their thanks to those officers at Dorset Police, including Mark Palmer and Grant Sleight, who had provided them with "absolutely superb" support since the crash.