Tearful Chessington mum, Carol Ward is outraged at the prospect of a speeding learner driver escaping with a fine after knocking down and killing her son.

Mrs Ward broke down in tears as a coroner recorded an open verdict on the death of her 37-year-old son, Ian, who was hit in Long Ditton by Denise Williams-Yelbert, who was driving on her own, without supervision, and had no insurance.

Crash scene investigators told Woking Coroner's Court last Wednesday that her Volkswagen Golf was travelling between 51 and 62 mph in the 50mph zone. The day was clear and bright and the road was straight for 350metres before the point of impact. Skid marks on the road showed the car collided with Mr Ward's bike 1.6metres inside the coloured cycle lane, killing him at the scene.

Williams-Yelbert, who is in her 20s, only held a provisional UK licence and will appear in court next month charged with driving without due care and attention, driving outside her licence and driving without insurance.

But campaigners from group Road Peace and the Ward family failed in their attempts to get her charged with the more serious offence of causing death by dangerous driving.

Mrs Ward said: "I think she will get away with a small fine.

"It just makes a life mean nothing really. It just devalues it. It makes me so angry.

"Ian was just a lovely man and a good son. He used to help me out a lot at home. He loved the outdoors and had so many friends."

Her partner Fred Pearce said: "We just want the punishment to be fair. She has got to live with it, but we have got to live with it 10 times over."

Mr Ward, a mechanic and cycling enthusiast, from Chessington was unmarried and worked at TW Whites garage in Bookham and previously for 19 years at Four Seasons Garage on Kingston's Richmond Road.

He was on his way to collect a car when he was hit at 8am on May 6 last year as he cycled towards Esher on the A309.

Williams-Yelbert, who solicitors said was wearing a nurse's uniform at the time of the crash and may have been returning from a night shift, refused to answer any questions at Woking Coroner's Court last Wednesday ahead of her appearance at magistrates' court.

She also refused to answer any questions in a police interview in July last year, but on the day of the crash signed a statement claiming that Mr Ward was "swerving from left to right".

She wrote: "When I got closer to him he just swerved in front of the car."

As the statement was read in court, members of Mr Ward's family called out "you liar". The coroner said that due to Williams-Yelbert's refusal to provide evidence he was unable to get a full picture of what happened, and recorded an open verdict.

She will appear at North Surrey Magistrates' Court on March 1.