A frail 91-year-old was crushed under a seven tonne lorry as he attempted to negotiate his way through heavy traffic, an inquest has heard.

Percy Hibbert, from Du Cane Court, in Balham, had been shopping in the Foodway Minimart in Upper Tooting Road on February 17, 2012.

CCTV footage seen by coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe showed the diminutive pensioner crossing the main road between stationary vehicles.

Horrified witnesses said they saw Mr Hibbert clinging to the lorry’s front bumper with one hand, with his walking stick in the other hand while carrying two bags of shopping.

Simon Curry, from Tooting, who was driving his car in the opposite direction, saw the carnage unfold.

He said: "I noticed an old man carrying bags emerging through traffic.

"He was right up against the truck and was holding on to the front of the bumper, with his stick in the other hand.

"He was very small, possibly under five foot, the cab was twice his height and he was walking very slowly.

"I saw he was going to be pulled under the wheel as the truck moved forward and I started hooting my horn.

"Lots of other people, pedestrians, were shouting at the driver to stop too.

"The little old man was completely crushed and the wheel went over his head and arms, it was a horrific sight.

"The driver didn’t have a clue what had happened.

"I got out of my car and told the driver not to get out so he couldn't see what happened "But it was too late and he collapsed straight away, I think he had a heart attack."

Mr Hibbert was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics five minutes after the incident.

PC Simon Palmer, a traffic investigation officer, said the lorry and the road were both structurally sound, and were not to blame for the accident.

The lorry had six mirrors including a front "caterpillar" mirror which showed the driver what is directly in front of the lorry.

PC Palmer added that it would have been "unreasonable" to expect the driver of the lorry, Philip Edwards, to routinely inspect all six of his mirrors and their blindspots each time the lorry moved forward.

He said: "Had the mirror been adjusted correctly the driver would have been in his 'field of view' but not necessarily 'visible'.

"It would have been very difficult to spot Mr Hibbert. He was a very small man, very slight, wearing dark clothing, walking very slowly and was extremely close to the front of the lorry's cab."

Official government safety guidelines for lorry drivers, from the Driving Standards Agency, say drivers should check their wing mirrors and over their shoulder but not necessarily the front mirror.

Mr Hibbert was well known in the Tooting and Balham community but was described as a "loner" by those who knew him.

Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe, sitting at Westminster Coroner's Court on Thursday, said: "We are all aware of the ongoing concern in London of the frequent deaths of cyclists in collision with heavy goods vehicles. But these are normally on the near side.

"Percy Hibbert was doing something that was inherently dangerous when there was somewhere entirely safe to cross just 50 yards up the road.

"I am going to record that Percy Hibbert died of multiple injuries. I conclude that he died as a result of an accident."