A RETIRED GP who died in a New Forest crash may have fallen unconscious at the wheel, an inquest heard.

Anne Noel Baughan, known as Annie, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, which happened on the A337 between Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst on June 6.

The 61-year-old from Sway is believed to have suffered a medical episode in the driver’s seat at around 5pm.

Her Skoda Fabia entered the oncoming lane, narrowly missing a car and ultimately colliding head-on with a Scania tanker truck.

The driver of the lorry, Gary Pitman, said: “The car in front of me swerved out the way of Annie and at that point I’d started to brake.

“I had nowhere to go and the car just kept coming with no sign of slowing down. You don’t think of blue flashing lights when you’re in that kind of situation, you think something will stop it. But there was no movement – the car just kept coming.”

The driver in front of Mr Pitman’s truck was Matthew Lloyd – a paramedic who had just finished his shift and was heading home.

He told the court: “I managed to swerve out the way, missing by centimetres. Then I saw the collision in my rear-view mirror. After grabbing my high-vis from the boot, I ran over to the car.

“Annie had no pulse and wasn’t breathing, and the car was now smoking so the scene was deemed too dangerous.”

Pathologist Dr Eleanor Jaynes, who conducted a post-mortem on the body, found abnormalities in Mrs Baughan’s heart which were likely to have caused her to fall unconscious, the inquest heard.

Mrs Baughan worked as a GP at New Milton Health Centre until her retirement last year. Before the collision she had been volunteering at the Society of St James homeless hostel in Southampton Street.

Coroner Samantha Marsh recorded a conclusion that Dr Baughan died as result of a road traffic collision.

Mrs Baughan’s husband Christopher said: “She was a fun person, full of energy and love.

“I was very lucky to have lived with her.”