A YOUNG woman denied that she was holding her mobile phone seconds before a motorcyclist was killed after he crashed into her car.

An inquest heard how 32-year-old Bradley Taylor was involved in a collision with a Citron c2 driven by Mia McKenna on Ferry Road in Eastham at around 5.45pm on Saturday, June 16 2018.

Mr Taylor, of Dearnford Avenue, Bromborough, suffered "catastrophic" injuries in the incident after he was thrown from his Kawasaki motorcycle and although he was treated by paramedics he was pronounced dead at the scene at around 6.15pm.

The inquest, held at Liverpool Coroners' Office, heard that Ms McKenna, who had only been driving for around three months, had been attempting to turn right into Torr Drive when Mr Taylor, who was driving on the opposite side of the road, collided with her vehicle.

She was initially questioned regarding causing death by careless driving but the charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence.

The inquest heard that the father of one, who worked at Jaguar Halewood as a welder and was a keen boxer, was below the legal limit for alcohol but that a toxicology report showed he had recently used cannabis.

Ms McKenna told the inquest she had passed her driving test in December 2017 but had only started driving after buying the Citron in March 2018.

She said on that on the day of incident she had driven to The Tap pub on Ferry Road for a job interview which she believed had been successful after she was offered a trial shift.

"I left the pub and I remember feeling really, really happy so I tried to ring my boyfriend but he didn't answer," said Ms McKenna, who described how she then connected her mobile phone to the speaker system in her car using the aux cable and called her aunt.

She told the inquest how she was talking to her aunt hands free as she left the car park of The Eastham Ferry Hotel and turned right on to Ferry Road before indicating and starting to turn into Torr Drive when the motorcycle hit her car.

"I felt like my car had exploded," said a tearful Ms McKenna. "I didn't know what had happened - all the air bags blew up.

"My body went into shock. I got out of the car and started screaming and screaming. My auntie was still on the phone so I went back to look for the phone and found it in the rear footwell.

"All I could hear was her screaming. I couldn't get my words out properly. I remember saying 'Eastham Ferry. Please help me.'

"It's all just a blur - I just remember screaming and screaming. I just knew something bad had happened but I couldn't grasp what was going on."

Ms McKenna, who tested negative for both alcohol and drugs, was challenged by Area Coroner Anita Bhardwaj about witness statements that said she had been seen holding her phone shortly before the incident.

"It's an absolute lie," she added. "I was not holding that phone because that is how I have been taught to drive.

"I would never hold my phone and I 100 per cent know I wasn't holding my phone."

The inquest went on to hear from witness Matthew Westbury, who was aged 16 at the time of the incident and had just finished working at The Tap when the collision happened.

He described how he had been riding his skateboard when he saw Ms McKee exit the car park with her phone to her ear.

Mr Westbury said she had exclaimed "Oh God!" when she saw him approaching her car on the skateboard.

Another witness, Benjamin Oakley, said he had been walking his dog along Ferry Road when he saw the motorcycle crash into the Citron and had rushed to Mr Taylor's aid.

He told the inquest that Ms McKenna had been holding a mobile phone and was talking to someone when she approached him after the collision.

Proceeding.