An uninsured teenage driver who had taken cocaine was not at fault for a death crash in which a veteran golfer was killed, an inquest has been told.

Harry Flockhart, 19, was behind the wheel of a friend's Mercedes when the collision took place which resulted in the death of 89-year-old retired merchant banker George Pinto.

It happened at the junction of Sandwich Road and Chalk Pit Lane near Woodnesborough in September last year.

But police crash investigators told Canterbury Coroner's Court today that their study of the evidence revealed Mr Pinto had pulled out from the lane into the path of the Mercedes being driven Mr Flockhart, who had no chance of avoiding the collision.

The Skoda driven by Mr Pinto, from Bramling near Wingham, rolled on its side and he suffered multiple injuries. He was airlifted to King's College Hospital in London but died the following day on September 10.

The pensioner, who never married or had children, was the longest-serving member of the Royal St George's Golf Club at Sandwich and also had a home in London.

During the hearing, crash investigator PC Oliver Jones told Assistant Coroner Ian Goldup that in his assessment, the Skoda had pulled out into the path of the Mercedes A180, which Mr Flockhart had borrowed from a friend's mother.

He said the teenager, who was 18 at the time, had failed a roadside drug test for cocaine but officers deemed he was not impaired to drive.

"The cause of the accident rests with Mr Pinto and there is no evidence that Mr Flockhart was not driving in a safe manner," he concluded.

But investigating officers did ask Kent County Council to repaint the 'give way' road markings at the junction which had faded.

The teenager had three friends in the car and was driving towards Sandwich when the crash happened as night was falling.

Mr Pinto was returning home from visiting his sister and was said to have know the junction well.

Recalling the accident, Mr Flockhart of Boulevard Courrieres, Aylesham, said he was travelling between 40 and 50mph at the time of the collision

"I was just driving normally and not expecting anything to happen," he said.

"There was no time for me to react. I only saw the car a second before impact. There was no opportunity to avoid it."

The Mercedes was knocked into a field and Mr Flockhart said he had to climb out of the window. Miraculously, his three friends were unhurt.

"I called the emergency services and went over to the other car and spoke to the driver."

He told the coroner that he only drove the Mercedes because his own car's windscreen was cracked.

Mr Pinto's nephew Lord Simon Marks, told the coroner that his uncle had been visiting his sister and he was "puzzled" by the accident because he knew the junction very well.

Recording the death was an accident, Mr Goldup said: "We have heard he had used the junction hundreds of times but sometimes you can forget you are driving and be unaware.

"I can't believe Mr Pinto saw the car but did not stop and can only think he wasn't concentrating."

Mr Pinto had a long career in corporate finance with the merchant bank Kleinwort Benson.

Eton-educated and a bachelor, his passion outside work was golf, which he played to a very high standard - playing off a two handicap at his peak.

He joined Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich in 1947 and was known for playing alone with two balls, becoming something of a legend at the club for his fastidious manner.

He played golf regularly for Eton in the Halford Hewitt tournament for public school old boys, in the Kent Amateur and Open and the English Amateur, and later in seniors tournaments.

He was dedicated to Zionist causes, which he supported through his private charitable trusts.

He was also a vice president of the Anglo-Israel Association, treasurer of the Israel-Diaspora Trust and co-chair of governors of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

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