A mother watched in horror as her little girl cycled away from her before she was killed by an HGV in a tiny village plagued by lorries on its small roads.
Eloise Jackson was seven and had only just learned to ride a bike when she took off away from her mother and pedalled down the hill and into a lorry carrying 26 tonnes of plastic.
The seven-year-old girl died when she cycled into the lorry's wheels in the picturesque Wiltshire village, Collingbourne Ducis, where she lived.
Heartbroken mum Laura Jackson told an inquest how she screamed and raced after her daughter in her final moments. The pair were just returning from the recreation ground close to there house at the time.
Salisbury coroner's court heard that on the evening of July 13, 2021, Mrs Jackson was walking alongside her daughter as she cycled on her green BMX - which she had only recently learned to ride during the covid pandemic.
In a statement, Mrs Jackson - who at the time ran her own baking business - told the inquest: "The recreation field was just a two minute walk away from our house. She was so happy riding on the recreation ground.
"I was always by her side but wanted her to be more independent."
As the pair walked home, Mrs Jackson told her daughter to avoid cycling ahead - but Eloise pedalled off down the hill.
She said: "Eloise hopped on her bike despite me telling her not to. I was yelling and screaming. I went to the end of the road and came face to face with a lady who said 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry'.
"All the traffic stopped and I started screaming for someone to call an ambulance."
It isn’t known how Eleanor, described as a "bubbly" schoolgirl, ended up cycling into the lorry.
Residents of the Wiltshire town have long voiced their complaints over articulated lorries driving through, but these calls escalated in light of the youngster’s tragic death and have led to a campaign to try and stop them.
Collingbourne Ducis has a population of just 1,000 people but has become the "wild west" in recent years as more and more HGVs have "thundered"through its roads, according to one resident.
Phillip Palmer, a close family friend, represented the Jacksons at the inquest and slammed the growing volume of HGV traffic in the town.
He claimed: "The largest vehicle anticipated when these roads were made was a big horse and cart, not these six axle HGVs."
Mr Palmer added that the area where Eloise died was an “accident blackspot” and that hers was far from the first death. This included a road fatality after a two-car crash in December 2020.
Collingbournes Road Safety Working Group is a campaign working to reduce speed and the number of HGVs using the A338 through Collingbourne Ducis and Collingbourne Kingston.
It is supported by Eloise's Army, a project set up by Mrs Jackson to raise funds, campaign, and honour Eloise's memory.
Mr Palmer, who is the parish clerk of neighbouring Collingbourne Kingston, described the area as "picturesque and quaint".
He said: "We have two main problems - speed and HGV traffic. It's always been a concern about the volume of traffic but in the last few years, people are more conscious of how many are coming through.
"They are thundering through pretty much constantly. It is the fact that had [the HGV driver] not been there she might not have collided with him.
"I spent 28 years with the Met police in London. If we had a stretch of road like this, somebody would have been taking notice of that.
"But down here, it's like the Wild West.
"It's always been a concern about the volume of traffic but in the last few years, people are more conscious of how many are coming through.
"They are thundering through pretty much constantly. We've had four fatalities. It's just unacceptable.
"It's had a big effect on everyone here."
He added that with a new logistics centre expected to open nearby, the "volume of traffic is only going to get worse".
PC Stephen Fair, police collision investigator, said that this was a "tragic collision". He said: "The HGV started moving forward before the collision. It was not travelling more than 12mph.
"For an unknown reason [Eloise] did not stop. She collided with the wheel and tyre of the vehicle."
The court heard how Eloise suffered "massive contusions to her left side" and "extensive traumatic injuries and significant abdominal bruising"
She was later pronounced dead at Salisbury District Hospital the evening of the crash.
A statement by lorry driver Rodney Motonga, who was not at fault for the accident, was read out. In it, Mr Motonga said: "I, to this day, do not know how the collision happened."
The small village suffered another HGV issue when a Home Bargains lorry crashed into a ditch, hospitalising another driver who swerved to avoid the vehicle.
In light of the crash, the Jacksons decided to leave the village where they had lived for 14 years and relocate to another village around 20 miles west.
In a Facebook post this summer following the Home Bargains crash, Mrs Jackson wrote: "The recent incident with the lorry was very triggering for us, especially being so close to the year anniversary of Eloise' death.
"It just shows that absolutely nothing has changed in a year, lorries still continue to pass though the tiny village.
"The issue was not speed which killed Eloise but many vehicles are speeding through this sleepy village. On this occasion people could have died as a lorry lost control and ploughed into the river Bourne missing a house by inches.
"Other houses have been hit by vehicles along the whole stretch of the A338 and damaged.
"We leave Collingbourne with a bitter taste in our mouths sadly but want to thank friends that have supported us and showed compassion and continue to think of Eloise and all that we have endured this past year."
