A WOMAN died after a cycling accident involving a livestock trailer in Argyll and Bute, an inquest has heard.

On September 23, 2019, Ann Lewis died on the B8073 between Gruline to Tobermory Road on the Isle of Mull.

At the time of her death, the 57-year-old, from Bristol, was on a cycling holiday with her partner Mr Thompson.

An inquest into her death was held at Salisbury and Swindon Coroner’s Court on Friday, September 20, 2024, after it first opened on October 21, 2019.

At approximately 11.55am on a road approximately 1.4 miles away from Ulva Primary School, Ms Lewis was involved in an accident while riding her bike.

(Image: Newsquest) The court heard that Ms Lewis was an ‘experienced cyclist’ who had cycled in Europe, including Holland, Germany and Italy.

Most roads on the couple’s journey were said to be 'single track' with passing places that they used frequently due to the level of traffic.

Her partner Mr Thompson, described that they had a ‘system’ in which she would shout ‘car’ if there was a vehicle behind and he would shout if there was one in front.

When pulling over, she would ‘stop behind’ Mr Thompson on the left side ‘as far away from traffic as possible’.

The court heard a statement from Mr Thompson, in which he said: “Ann called out ‘car’ behind, I stopped in the next passing place on the left side of the road.”

The car approaching was a Nissan Murano that pulled a livestock trailer with five sheep.

“I was expecting Ann to appear on my left-hand side,” the statement continued, “the vehicle passed me accelerating to a surprisingly high speed.

“The driver must’ve been aware of the impact. The first thing she said was ‘I don’t know what happened’."

Ms Lewis had a head injury and Mr Thompson responded by asking the driver to call emergency services.

He approached Ms Lewis but she was completely unconscious, and he had not seen exactly what happened.

“I turned around and saw her lying on the road on her side with her feet unclipped from pedals and still wearing her cycling helmet," he continued.

The bike she was riding was an electric bike which could assist her speed up to 18 miles per hour.

The court concluded: “Ann was riding a bike and was overtaken by a car with a trailer. She fell off straight into the path of the trailer which ran over her.

“She died as a result of head and chest injuries as a result of a road traffic collision."

The coroner was unable to determine exactly how she came about falling from her bike.