SAFETY measures along the B3006 came too late to save the life of an Alton nurse, an inquest heard on Tuesday.

Mother-of-two Joanne Matthews died when her car crashed at an accident black spot on the B3006 just north of its junction with Snailing Lane, Greatham, as she drove to work.

She lost control of her estate car as she tried to take a right hand bend in the rain and her Vauxhall Vectra spun and struck a tree at the side of the road causing severe damage to the roof and the driver's door area.

Mrs Matthews (35) suffered multiple injuries in the crash and died two days later at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham.

The hearing was told that several cars in the past year had skidded off at the same location and there may have been a problem with the road surface when it was wet.

Since then Hampshire County Council has embarked on a £17,500 safety traffic calming package for a 2 km stretch of the road from Stairs Hill at Empshott to the Snailing Lane junction.

This includes resurfacing of the road to give it more grip, as well as gateway signs, coloured road markings and new chevron and bend signs warning motorists of the sharp bends on the road.

However, work on this project - not yet complete - and the resurfacing took place after the the fatal accident on June 28 this year, the inquest was told.

Mrs Matthews was driving from her Petersfield home in Test Close to work in Alton on the morning of the tragic accident.

Motorist Karen Frost said she had been following the nurse's R-registration car but lost sight of it moments before the crash on the 60 mph road.

Mrs Frost told the inquest at Basingstoke: "She must have been doing at least 40 mph to pull away from me but she was not driving particularly fast."

Pc Paul Underwood, who attended the crash scene, rang Mrs Matthews' husband from the roadside to tell him about the accident.

The officer told the inquest: "When I arrived paramedics were treating the woman.

"I spoke to her husband on a mobile phone and said she had been involved in an accident."

The road was closed for four and a half hours as paramedics worked at the scene and Mrs Matthews was taken to hospital.

Crash investigator Pc Michael Johnson told the hearing he had serious concerns about the amount of grip the road surface had offered after rain.

He said: "Accident statistics show a number of collisions at this location.

"These are normally when the road is wet which may suggest there's a problem with the road surface.

"I submitted reports about two incidents in September last year where cars skidded.

"If we think there is a defect with the road signs or surface we submit a report to the local authority – I did this.

"Mrs Matthews appears to have lost control on the right hand bend. The normal reason for this would be the car was travelling too fast.

"In my opinion the car was not travelling excessively fast."

Recording a verdict of accidental death North Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley said he was concerned about the condition of that stretch of road.

He said: "I shall take the matter up with the local authority. I should deal with this informally in correspondence."

After the hearing Lionel Matthews, an engineer, paid tribute to his wife with whom he had two daughters, aged five and seven.

Mr Matthews (40) said: "She was a wonderful wife and mother and is sadly missed. She was devoted to her family."

Mrs Matthews' father Robin Bennett said his daughter, who has a twin sister Nicola, was a very careful driver and knew the B3006 very well.

He said: "She did that journey often; three to four times a week.

"She was a jolly good driver and I was never concerned when I drove with her, she was very competent."