A PENSIONER from Kidderminster killed by a runaway bus as she lay sunbathing on a Turkish beach was the victim of mechanical failure and driver negligence, an inquest heard.

Worcestershire coroner Victor Round said the air brakes of the tour coach which ploughed into Margaret Hyde, 69, of Poplar Road, six weeks ago, failed and driver Gurcan Bodur had been unable to negotiate a sharp right hand bend which swung away from the road down to the crowded beach.

He recorded a verdict of accidental death caused by severe head injuries and a fractured spine at the inquest in Stourbridge on Monday.

Mrs Hyde, who had flown to Turkey with her sister Anne Davies, was lying on a sunbed when the Mitsubishi Panorama bus carrying holidaymakers lost control on the steep hill and careered on to Belcekiz Beach near Fethiye.

The bus smashed into a Renault taxi before running on to the beach, killing four people including Mrs Hyde and injuring 12 others. It finally came to a stop in the sea.

Reading from a Turkish police report, Mr Round said the police investigation found the bus driver had been driving a vehicle with technical problems.

An investigation of the bus's air brakes had revealed the rear left brake bellows and plastic diaphragm were ripped and the air exhausted.

He said the air pressure in the brakes should have been tested regularly and the coach stopped if the air level went down.

The clutch and gear systems all worked off the air pressure system, he added.

Mrs Hyde was rushed to hospital following the accident on September 21 but was certified dead on arrival.

A 33-year-old Briton and two Turkish people were also killed in the accident.