DR Douglas Chandler spent 44 years as a GP in Herefordshire. His son Tim, a long-serving county paramedic, was one of the first to reach the accident that took his father's life. Tasked to tend to the seriously injured driver of the Audi, he realised that the front seat passenger was his own father. Colleagues immediately relieved him of his duties. Dr Chandler had been heading home having watched Hereford Gilbert and Sullivan Society perform The Gondoliers at The Courtyard. He was president of the society and had been a member for more than 50 years. Dr Chandler joined Kingstone surgery in 1947 and was widely admired as a GP.

AS retired doctor Douglas Chandler was applauding the end of a favourite Gilbert and Sullivan show at The Courtyard, Hereford, factory worker James Pitt was probably finishing a game of pool at The Comet, Madley. An inquest heard their lives were now minutes away from colliding - with tragic consequences.

When Dr Chandler, 80, was collected at the theatre by friend Peter Dowsett for a lift home to Kingstone, Mr Pitt was pulling away from The Comet as part of a five-car convoy of friends heading into Hereford.

It was about 10.25pm on a wet Friday, March 8, 2002.

Nobody, the inquest heard, was driving fast or foolishly. The 'Comet Crew' had drunk nothing stronger than shandy or coke.

Reaching McIntyre's bend on the B4349 Hereford-Clehonger road, Alan Weaver, at the head of the convoy, realised the lights of Mr Pitt's following Ford Sierra 'weren't there'.

Kevin Pugh and Kirsty Buck, in the car tailing the Sierra, said they saw its brake lights come on at the bend. Seconds later it clipped the verge, careered into the wrong side of the road, collided with an Audi driven by Mr Dowsett then spun into a following Citroen.

Unconscious

Other witnesses at Hereford Town Hall described one of the county's worst accident scenes of recent years.

In a statement, Mr Pugh said he helped pull an unconscious Mr Pitt out of the burning Sierra.

Taxi driver and trained first-aider Michael Lloyd told in his statement of being sent to the wrecked Audi only to recognise the grievously injured Dr Chandler as a regular fare.

Leominster GP Dr Andrew Hargreaves - who also happened upon the scene - certified Dr Chandler dead.

Mr Dowsett and Mr Pitt told the inquest they could remember nothing of the accident. Both had taken some time to recover from serious injuries - Mr Pitt unconscious for several weeks.

Accident investigator PC Nigel Phillips said computer-aided analysis of evidence at the scene suggested the Sierra lost control on the bend, possibly while trying to take some form of evasive action.

Though there were no clues as to the actual speeds of each vehicle, indications were that these speeds were not excessive, he said.

County coroner David Halpern recorded an accidental death verdict.

The death of Dr Chandler was, he said, tragic enough.

"We can only think it fortunate that there were not more deaths (at this scene)."