A former traffic policeman from Haywards Heath died instantly when his motorbike crashed into two cars, an inquest heard.

Roy Townshend, 57, may have been momentarily distracted as he approached a Volkswagen Golf that was about to turn into a side road.

His Kawasaki GP2 clipped the back of the Golf, deflecting him into the path of a BMW on the A275 at South Chailey, near Lewes.

Experienced rider Mr Townshend, who was a driver for former Sussex Chief Constable Paul Whitehouse, was trapped underneath the BMW.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Eastbourne inquest heard how moments before he hit the Golf, Mr Townshend had looked down at the front wheel of his bike, possibly because a stone had become lodged.

PC Albert Mariner, a Shoreham-based crash investigator, said: "A moment's hesitation was borne out with tragic consequences."

The inquest was told neither the driver of the Golf nor the BMW could have avoided the accident on August 29 last year.

East Sussex Coroner Alan Craze said: "It could have been that Mr Townshend was investigating the control of the bike at the precise point when he should have perhaps seen the vehicle slow in front of him."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.

At Mr Townshend's funeral at St Wilfrid's Church, Haywards Heath, in September, Acting Chief Constable Maria Wallis was joined by dozens of officers of all ranks.