AN HGV driver died instantly when his vehicle hit a kerb and ploughed into a house.

Geoffrey Richardson had been driving below the speed limit when his HGV struck the kerb of a pedestrian refuge in the middle of the A46 Evesham to Cheltenham Road at Beckford.

His lorry effectively destroyed the ground floor of the house in Cheltenham Road belonging to George Francis, who was upstairs at the time.

Residents have collected more than 1,000 names on a petition objecting to traffic calming measures along the stretch which they feel create a hazard.

"Five weeks earlier, a very similar thing happened," Mr Francis told an inquest yesterday.

"An articulated lorry hit the same side of the bollard and collided with the house next door and jackknifed into our garden," he said at the Stourport hearing.

Mr Francis said HGVs had to snake through the two pedestrian refuges put in place on the road as a traffic calming measure and a place for pedestrians to cross.

"It's terrifying to watch HGVs go through there," said Mr Francis.

"They look like a giant snake coming through.

"The bollard just shouldn't be where it is."

Another resident, Patricia Tovey, told the court she had collected 1,175 signatures on a petition to get rid of the pedestrian refuges.

The inquest heard that Mr Richardson was probably driving at around 40mph in the 50mph zone before the accident, and not been drinking or taken any substances.

Mr Richardson's co-workers at Buck Hickman said he was an easy-going man who enjoyed touring in his camper van and was a skilled driver.

"He was a bubbly person with a good sense of humour and a conscientious worker," said Worcestershire coroner Victor Round, reading from a statement from one of Mr Richardson's colleagues, Jeffery Wier.

Mr Richardson's partner Carol Cannaby told the inquest he suffered from pins and needles in his hands, but Mr Round said there was no evidence to suggest this played any part in the accident.

The kerb for the pedestrian refuge was larger than normal for a 50mph area and was designed to deflect traffic away from pedestrians.

Traffic management officer PC Michael Digger said there was "no margin for error" on this stretch of road, and Mr Round said it was "narrow and merciless".

Mr Round recorded a verdict of accidental death and said he would be writing to the Highways Agency about his findings.