A CORONER is calling for action over the use of a byway near Stonehenge after a taxi driver was killed running across the A303 to get a better view of the monument.

Pat Sturtivant from New Tredegar, Wales, was knocked over by a Mercedes just before 8.41pm on August 29, 2014 as he returned to his car parked in the entrance of Byway 11 on the A303.

He was taking an American couple to Cardiff, having collected them from Port Isaac in Cornwall, and had stopped at the World Heritage Site en route.

While one of his passengers remained in the car, Pat took the other one across the road to allow him to get close-up photographs.

Salisbury Coroner's Court heard that there was "extremely heavy traffic" on the A303 and it was dark, when Pat and his passenger crossed to return to the taxi.

The 37-year-old was wearing dark clothing and police collision investigation officers said the headlight glare from oncoming traffic meant they would have been inconspicuous.

The court heard the Mercedes driver, a 28-year-old from London, was driving between 40mph and 50mph on the westbound carriageway and was talking on his hands-free phone at the time of the collision.

After the crash, Pat, a father-of-three, sustained an unsurvivable brain injury and died at Southampton General Hospital the next day.

His passenger had made it to safety, being just in front of Pat.

PC Stephen Fair of Wiltshire Police's serious collision unit, who carried out a reconstruction of the accident 24 hours after the crash, said once the two pedestrians had started to cross the carriageway, the collision was inevitable because there was insufficient time for the driver to take avoiding action.

He said: "The driver would only have seen them when they were coming across the carriageway lit up by headlights - when they were in front of oncoming vehicles and were silhouetted as moving objects."

The court heard that since the closure of the A344 - a road which ran alongside the stones - it has become common practice for cars and even coaches to park in the entrance to Byway 11 because it is directly opposite the stones and saves people having to go to the visitor centre, park up and pay.

In recording a conclusion of road traffic collision, senior coroner David Ridley, said he fears another fatality will happen in the same place and is writing a report following the inquest to raise his concerns.

He said: "I am concerned about the location being used as a vantage point to gain access as a viewing point of Stonehenge and I’m also concerned that even if that section of Byway 11 is closed off, or downgraded to a bridleway, the problem could just move up to Byway 12."

The inquest took place on Wednesday.