A COUPLE were killed when a deer leapt into the path of their high-powered 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 crash.

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.

The accident happened on an unlit and unclassified road at Laneast Downs, between Bodmin and Launceston, at about 6.15pm on March 18, 2008.

A deer carcass was found near the scene.

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.

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

MPC Andy Cloak told yesterday's inquest in Truro that Mr Courtney did not have a licence to ride the powerful motor scooter.

He said: "We found that Mr Courtney only had a provisional licence that covered him to ride a bike of 125cc but did not cover him to ride a bike of 400cc. Nor did it cover him to carry someone pillion."

Mr Courtney bought the scooter in 2007 and it was not due for an MOT for another three years.

The inquest heard the front brake 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 on March 7 the vehicle had been serviced at a garage and it was not clear if the faulty brake had gone unnoticed or if it had been a long-standing defect.

He said: "The driver would know that the brakes were not working because there would have been a slow reduction.

"It would have taken eight seconds before the brake worked.

"However the defects may not have affected the accident if the driver did not have time to brake.

"There were no skid marks before impact, although there were marks on the road after Mr Courtney collided with the deer."

Andrew Cox, Deputy Coroner for Cornwall, said: "The deer ran into the road and this was the cause of this collision.

"I cannot say if the front brake defect caused this accident.

"I cannot say 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."

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

He recorded verdicts of accidental death on the couple.