A BELOVED vet died after being run over by a cement mixer as she tried to overtake it on her bike.

Susan McCann, 49, was on her way to Kinfauns Veterinary Centre when she cycled along a narrow corridor between the kerb and slow moving traffic in London Road, Clacton.

Her bike came into contact with a Mercedes lorry and Miss McCann fell to the floor.

An inquest into her death heard Miss McCann was likely destabilised by the large backpack she was wearing at the time as she tumbled to the ground where she was then run over by the mixer.

Tragically, she died at the scene from head injuries.

The inquest heard she carried the rucksack wherever she went and had stayed away from her home in Thorpe the night before the tragic incident.

Giving evidence, PC Jason Howard from Essex Police’s forensic collision investigation unit said the large bag could have been a hindrance after Miss McCann’s handlebars struck the vehicle and spun round quickly.

“It would likely have pulled her towards the ground,” he said.

“She was also wearing clip-in cycle shoes which prevented her from putting a foot down to break the fall.”

PC Howard said it was feasible the driver would not have seen Miss McCann at all and that he may not have expected anyone to be cycling in the “very narrow corridor” between his vehicle and the pavement.

He also said there was nothing to suggest the cement mixer had changed course at all and stopped immediately in a straight line consistent with the direction of the road.

PC Howard conducted checks on the bike and the mixer and both had been in good working order.

Senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray concluded she died as a result of a road traffic collision.

Addressing her family, she said: “What a tragedy.

“I would again like to express my condolences to her friends and family.”

Ms McCann, who grew-up in East Kilbride, Scotland, worked in Essex for many years having qualified as a vet in 1993 graduating from the University of Glasgow.

She was described as extremely kind-natured and with a wicked sense of humour by colleagues in the days after she died.

A commemorative bench has been installed at the surgery where she worked.