A horrific crash with claimed the life of an Otley pensioner has been judged a “tragic accident”.

Peter Kerr was killed when his Vauxhall Meriva was in collision with a bus on the A659 Pool Road near the Shell garage at Pool-in-Wharfedale, on April 20, last year.

The retired sales manager, 70, had been turning right onto Pool Road, towards Otley, when the accident happened.

His car was sent careering into a wall after colliding with a bus. An inquest at Leeds Coroners Court yesterday heard Mr Kerr, of Harecroft Road, had been pronounced dead at the scene just after 11am. A statement by Mr Kerr's widow, Ruth, said his loss had left “a great hole in our family.”

Coroner David Hinchliff said Mr Kerr either failed to see the bus, or miscalculated its speed.

He acknowledged that he was an extremely experienced driver but that the crash must have been a ‘tragic accident’.