A coroner has recorded a verdict of accidental death on a Bosbury man who died following a road accident on July 12.

Stephen Jackson, of Forgebank, suffered serious head injuries when his Land Road Discovery collided with a telegraph pole, fence and tree on the B4212 Bromyard road at around 2am.

The inquest, last Thursday, was told he had been the 'designated driver' for a night out with friends and had drunk nothing but cola. Accident investigator PC Dave Sidley said the evidence suggested that Mr Jackson was either preoccupied with something in the car or may have started to fall asleep.

Robert Lee, of Grange Farm Cottages, Bosbury, was going to collect his wife when he came across the crash. He sat with Mr Jackson during his final moments, waiting for the emergency services. Mr Lee's wife Diana had seen Mr Jackson, 38, drive past as she waited for her husband.

"He came past perfectly well on the straight and the next minute he shot off towards the middle of the road," she said. "He was going quite fast round the bend and that was the last I saw of him."

Coroner David Halpern recorded a verdict of accidental death but said he was unable to say exactly what went wrong.

"He was wearing a seatbelt and it seems from his earlier driving that evening that he had been driving in a proper manner," he said.