A hair salon boss died with his daughter as they waited for their car to have its tyre changed on busy road.

Valentino Coleman, 49, and 21-year-old Olivia had been sitting in a Toyota Aygo as a repair truck arrived to help his daughter Grace.

The two were advised to exit the vehicle as there was no hard shoulder in Hengist Way near Minster in Thanet and it was dark, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

But as they stood nearby, a Mercedes Sprinter van ploughed into the back of the Toyota “tragically catapulting it” into Valentino and Olivia and killing them both.

Mr Coleman, known to friends as Tino – was the owner of One Hairdressing in Market Buildings, Maidstone.

He was killed at the scene and Olivia died before she could reach hospital. Amazingly Olivia’s sister Grace and the repair truck driver James Young escaped being struck.

Van driver Silvananthan Mathivathanan, 44, from Grange Road, Broadstairs has admitted causing their deaths but claims he was driving carelessly, not dangerously as charged.

Prosecutor Edmund Fowler told Canterbury Crown Court said: “The defendant has admitted that his driving was at fault but the Crown contend that it went beyond careless and fell far below the standard expected of a responsible driver.”

The jury was shown video footage of the Toyota with hazard lights flashing, taken from another vehicle which had passed them earlier.

Grace, who worked at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, had been travelling home in her Renault Clio on October 23 last year but when she reached near Manston Airport she pulled over to the side after discovering her car's nearside tyre had deflated.

She called her father for assistance and he arrived with her sister Olivia and parked his Toyota behind Grace’s car, which had stopped on the nearside.

Mr Fowler said other drivers had noted as they passed that the cars had hazard lights flashing.

Mr Young arrived in his recovery vehicle and put the flashing lights on and stopped a couple of car lengths ahead of the stationary vehicles.

“He went over to Grace, who was on the footpath, and asked the other two to get out of the vehicle before he telephoned his boss because as he was concerned about changing a tyre along the unlit Hengist Way. He wanted the lane coned off for safety reasons

“They then saw one particular vehicle which caused them alarm and Mr Young said he thought the Sprinter van was coming a bit close.

“There was then a collective intake of breath as Grace and Mr Young desperately ran up the bank," he said.

The prosecutor said Mr Young turned to see the Mercedes van hit the back of the Toyota, sending it “brushing” near Grace’s Renault.

He claimed that the flashing lights on the recovery vehicle, the Renault and the Toyota were all visible for up to 745 metres – and from between nine to 16 seconds.

"But for whatever reason it was not perceived by the Mercedes driver," Mr Fowler said.

The trial continues.