A schoolgirl died after she fell from her bike under a car, an inquest heard.

Tanja Smith, 11, was cycling towards her home in High Street, Nutley, near Uckfield, on June 28 last year when the handle bars of her bike struck the passenger side wing mirror of a Ford Escort being driven by Brian Abberton.

An inquest at Eastbourne today heard that Mr Abberton and his partner Rosemary Bruton had been visiting her father in Polegate before going back to their home at Wimbledon, south London.

At about 6.30pm they were travelling north on the A22 out of Nutley when they came out of a left hand bend into a straight section of road.

Miss Bruton said she saw a girl on a bike who was partly obscured by overhanging trees.

She told the inquest: "We both commented on her and Brian felt she may come out in to the road.

"A couple seconds later she came right out in front of our car."

Mr Abberton swerved to try to and avoid her but her handle bar clipped the car's wing mirror and the back door of his car which caused her to lose control of the bike and swerve into the centre of the road.

Lee Pannett, 22, of Eastbourne Road, Horam, was driving a red Renault Clio about a car length behind Mr Abberton.

It was then that Mr Pannett saw Mr Abberton "swerve abruptly".

Mr Pannett told the hearing he briefly saw Tanja half falling down off the bike and he braked as hard as he could to try and avoid her.

But Tanja and her bike went under Mr Pannett's car.

Linda Craft and her son Nicholas, from Nutley, were travelling in the opposite direction when they saw Tanja just before the incident.

Mrs Craft said it did not look like Tanja had control of the bike. She saw Mr Abberton swerve to avoid her and then Mr Pannett's car hit her.

Mr Craft told the hearing: "I saw the Escort go past her and it unnerved her greatly, so much so that she went towards the middle of the road. She had no control over her bike and was weaving from left to right."

PC Mark Hill from Sussex Police carried out an investigation at the scene and told the inquest that both cars were likely to have been travelling in excess of the 30mph speed limit when the crash happened.

He told the hearing it was likely that if Mr Pannett had been travelling at a greater distance behind Mr Abberton he would have had more time to react.

Tanja was taken to East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, with fractures to her arms and legs and internal injuries.

She was transferred to St George's Hospital in South London where she died the next day during surgery.

A post mortem showed her liver had been crushed in the impact causing it to rupture and haemorrhage.

Coroner Alan Craze recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Tanja's parents Geoffrey and Jennifer Smith declined to talk to The Argus after the hearing.

Lee Pannett has been charged with driving without due care and attention in connection with Tanja's death. He is to stand trial at Lewes Magistrates Court on June 3 and 4.