THE father of a young driver killed in a crash near Hereford pleaded with him at the roadside not to die, an inquest heard.

Mark Thomson had already lost one son, 17-year-old Stuart, who drowned in the River Wye at Bredwardine in 2009.

But last July, Kyle Thomson, 21, died after being in a crash on the A438 near Bridge Sollars.

His friend, 19-year-old Jack Pritchard, who was a passenger in the Citroen Saxo Mr Thomson was driving, also died.

At an inquest into their deaths at Hereford Town Hall this morning, Martin Ingram, who stopped to help in the aftermath of the crash on July 8, said he heard Mr Thomson Senior trying to aid his son's recovery.

"He said; 'Don't leave me. I have already lost one son'," said Mr Ingram.

Mr Thomson Junior had been driving behind his father who was riding a motorcycle.

Vehicle examiner Michael Saunders said the anti-lock braking system (ABS) on Mr Thomson's Saxo had been removed which may have resulted in a loss of "directional control".

He said he knew of no reason why this would be done.

"For the life of me I cannot understand why you would want to disable such a safety feature," he said.

Mr Saunders said a warning light would have been on the car dashboard throughout the journey alerting the driver to the ABS issue.

Toxicology reports showed Mr Thomson, from Bredwardine, had cannabis in his system at the time of his death although it is unknown whether this would have impaired his driving ability.

Pathologist Dr Mark Hayes said he died of multiple injuries with an anticedent cause of trauma, the same conclusion given to Moccas resident Mr Pritchard, who had no drugs in his system.

The Saxo collided with a Mercedes being driven by Marylin Lowther who was travelling home with her husband after the pair had been for a meal at the Starting Gate, off Roman Road in Hereford.

"The car was coming sideways at me," she told the hearing.

"I knew it was going to hit me. There was nothing I could do to avoid it."

She said she initially thought there was just one occupant in the Saxo but later learned, while being treated at hospital, there were two.

Mark Bricknell, Herefordshire's Coroner, recorded a verdict of death by road traffic collision for both men.