AN experienced lorry driver was killed in a crash, which brought traffic chaos to the M5 after cows escaped from a cattle truck.

Roy Burton, who had 40 years' driving experience, stopped on the hard shoulder on the northbound carriageway between Junctions 6 and 5 just before the fatal collision on Tuesday, November 12, last year, an inquest at Stourport-on-Severn heard.

Twenty cows ran amok on the motorway after escaping from the overturned cattle truck and traffic had to be diverted with Junction 6 closed for around 10 hours, causing gridlock in Worcester.

At yesterday's inquest, Mr Burton's wife Audrey, said a check done on her husband's mobile phone revealed that he did not stop on the hard shoulder to use the phone.

"It was against all his principles of driving. We can't believe he pulled over for something trivial," she said.

"We think he didn't feel well."

Worcestershire coroner Victor Round said on the day of the accident the 65-year-old was driving an empty Renault 7.5 ton vehicle from his work place at Blackpole to Telford, but stopped on the hard shoulder before pulling on to the motorway.

He said Mr Burton either failed to see a blue Scania truck behind him "coming his way or failed to match the speed of the vehicle," which forced the blue lorry into the next lane, but a cattle truck in the middle lane forced it back into the lane which Mr Burton was in.

The coroner added that Mr Burton had reached a speed of 17 mph when the Scania collided with his vehicle, forcing Mr Burton to collide with the cattle truck, causing it to jack-knife and overturn.

Mr Round said Mr Burton, of Dowles Croft, Droitwich, died that day in Worcestershire Royal Hospital after suffering a ruptured aorta - the artery, which connects the heart.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.