A COUPLE from Tregeare were killed when a deer ran into the path of their motor scooter causing it to career out of control and hit a tree, an inquest heard.

Keith Courtney, 41, and Anne Courtney-Forsyth, 31, had been married less than a year when they died in the collision, which occurred along an unlit and unclassified road at Laneast Downs, between Bodmin and Launceston at about 6.15pm on March 18, 2008.

Mr Courtney was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife was rushed to Plymouth's Derriford Hospital and died in the early hours of the following morning.

A post mortem showed Mr Courtney died from internal injuries and his wife died from multiple injuries.

A deer carcass was found near the scene and police later confirmed long, brown hairs belonging to the female deer were discovered trapped in the mudguard of the black 400cc Piaggio motor scooter.

No other vehicle was involved on the road, which is subject to the national speed limit.

At the inquest at Truro on Wednesday, April 15, MPC Andy Cloak said that Mr Courtney did not have a licence to ride the powerful motor scooter.

He said that Mr Courtney had a provisional licence that covered him to ride a bike of 125cc but did not cover him to ride a bike of 400cc or carry someone pillion.

The inquest heard that the front brake of the scooter, which Mr Courtney had purchased in 2007, was not working properly because of a build-up of hydraulic fluid in the system, the tyres were under-inflated and the suspension faulty.

Paul Charley, vehicle examiner with Devon and Cornwall Police, said the scooter had been serviced on March 7 but that it was not clear if the faulty break had gone unnoticed or whether it had been a long-standing defect.

He said the driver would have known that the brakes were not working because there would have been a slow reduction. However, he said the defects may not have affected the accident if the driver did not have time to break.

Andrew Cox, Deputy Coroner for Cornwall, could not say whether the breaks caused the accident or whether if the tyres and the suspension had been correct Mr Courtney would have had a better chance to correct the scooter after it struck the deer.

He asked the police to make investigations with the unnamed garage where the scooter was serviced to find out more information about the faulty break.

He recorded verdicts of accidental death on the couple.