A decorator on a night out was killed as he walked along a dark dual carriageway.

An inquest has heard that Aron Baker was separated from his friends after socialising in Rochester on December 3, last year.

The group had headed to town in a taxi from the 24-year-old’s Hoo home and went to the Casino Rooms between 11pm and 11.30pm.

But at about midnight Mr Baker left the club.

Despite texts and calls to him, the Clayhill Gardens’ resident did not reply until about 1.40am, saying he could not come back.

Shortly afterwards, he decided to walk home.

An hour later, he was struck by a Vauxhall Vectra, driven by Roger Sales, who was making his way to work on the A228.

He told an inquest that shortly, after 3am, he had seen a flash and heard a bang and realised he had struck something.

Mr Sales had dimmed his headlights for a car travelling in the other direction when the collision happened.

He said: “I was just putting the lights back up when it happened.

“I had not seen anything in front of me at all and then I saw a flash and everything went to pot.

“I saw the flash and knew it was too tall to be an animal and I pulled over.”

Mr Baker suffered a traumatic brain injury and was taken to King’s College Hospital, London. He died the following day.

Mr Sales said he drove to work on the road five times a week and had never seen a pedestrian walk along the dual carriageway.

Police investigators told coroner Patricia Harding the road was not lit and the collision happened on very dark night.

Mrs Harding concluded Mr Baker died as a result of a road traffic collision on an unlit road on a particularly dark night.

She added: “Mr Baker was not in the middle of the road but on the edge of the carriageway, but not on the grass verge.”