An estate agent was killed when the car he was driving collided with a horse that had been spooked into escaping its paddock, an inquest heard.

Mark Stapleton was driving his wife Julie and two of her friends home from a charity dinner, late on July 22 last year, when the accident occurred.

The 51-year-old, from Paignton, hit one of two horses that had escaped from their field as he drove along the A380 near the Olchard turn off.

He suffered a severe head injury and died the following day at Torbay Hospital.

An inquest in Torquay yesterday heard that the horse, a bay coloured cob called Murphy, had broken through a post and rail fence, a line of barbed wire and a hedge before reaching the road.

His owner, Alison Mitchell, told the hearing "in order to do that he would have been very frightened by something."

Murphy and Ms Mitchell's other horse, Merlin, were kept in a rented paddock at Sedgewell Stables, a few hundred metres from the dual carriageway.

Mr Stapleton had collected his wife and two friends from an event at the Lord Haldon Hotel in Dunchideock and were travelling at around 70mph in their Mazda 6 when they struck the horse.

In a statement read at the inquest, Mrs Stapleton said: "All of a sudden, two foot in front of us, I saw a horse and the back of another horse. Both were just simply walking across the road. There was no time to speak or react, as soon as I saw them the windscreen smashed and the car stopped."

Several motorists dialled 999 to report horses on the road, including an HGV driver who stopped his vehicle but could see no way of catching the "petrified" animals. Police were en-route to the scene after the first call at 11.33pm but by 11.40pm the crash, in which the horse also died, had already occurred. Equine vet Richard Stringer said a variety of things could spook horses, including "flapping plastic, fireworks, loud noises, shooting and dogs nearby.

Ms Mitchell said Murphy was normally "bomb proof" and was ridden by her child.

She examined the scene and could tell which horse had bolted because of damage to his body from the barbed wire.

Investigating officer, PC Chris Wright, said "reasonable steps had been taken to secure the animals within that paddock."

Coroner Ian Arrow recorded a verdict of accidental death.

In a statement, Ms Mitchell said: "Many people have been affected by the tragic events of 22 July 2011.

"My thoughts are with them all, especially of course Mrs Stapleton."

Paying tribute to her husband, who was born in Brixham and was Chairman of the South Devon Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club, Mrs Stapleton said: "We both believed in living life to the full. We loved each other so much and felt very lucky to have had what we had together."