A RICKSHAW crash which killed a British mother in Cuba may have been caused by tourists riding recklessly on motorcycles, an inquest heard.

Gillian Owens, aged 45, was in a co-co taxi - a two-wheeled carriage pulled by a motorcycle - with her husband and 12-year-old daughter when it was struck by a car in the resort of Varadero.

They were returning to their hotel from a trip to

swim with dolphins on the final day of a two-week holiday when the smash took place on August 5, 2004.

Mrs Owens, a mother-of-three from Marryat Road, Winwick, was trapped in the wreckage and suffered horrific leg injuries and burns. She died in hospital hours later.

Her husband and daughter were thrown from the co-co taxi on impact, causing multiple injuries which still require treatment two years later.

Mrs Owens' husband, 58-year-old Tony, told an inquest

on Monday that a group of tourists on hired motorcycles were harassing the co-co driver.

He said: "We had to wait at a t-junction while these motorcycles went past.

"They came very close to us. The co-co driver was getting annoyed with it all. I remember saying to Gill, 'These buggers are going to kill somebody'. And they did."

The couple's daughter, now 14, who cannot be named for legal reasons, confirmed that the motorcyclists were causing a nuisance.

Dr Janet Napier, deputy

coroner for Cheshire, recorded a verdict of accidental death but said there were many unanswered questions surrounding the tragedy.

"In my view there seems to be a lot of questions that have not been asked," she said.

Speaking after the inquest at Warrington Coroners' Court, Mr Owens said: "We will have to get together as a family and decide what to do next, but this is not over yet.

"Even if I have to travel to Cuba to get answers, that's what I will do."