A DRIVER at the wheel during a horrific crash in Westbury-on-Trym was speeding and over the drink-drive limit.

Best mates Luke Giles and Sam Barter were killed and three back-seat passengers seriously injured when Mr Giles' BMW slid out of control on Canford Lane, hit a wall and flipped on June 22 last year.

There was no evidence either of the builders had been wearing seat-belts, an inquest at Flax Bourton Coroner's Court heard yesterday.

Earlier that evening Mr Giles, 27, Mr Barter, 29, Daniel Pitt and his cousin Marcus Harper had all been drinking in the White Lion pub.

At about 11.15pm they left in Mr Giles' car with Anna McGregor, who had been working at the pub in Passage Road.

Accident investigator PC Richard Hignett calculated the minimum speed when Mr Giles lost control of his car was 47mph, and taking into account the damage, he estimated it was more likely to have been 55-61mph. But due to the crash impact, PC Hignett felt that, even with seatbelts, "the outcome would not have been any different".

He concluded Mr Giles had taken the bend too fast and tried to right himself, sending the car into a spin.

Adrian Galvin, a passenger in Maciej Franczak's car, travelling in the opposite direction, told of his "horror" as he saw the BMW 325i coming round the bend, struggling to stay in lane before it narrowly missed them. He then looked over his shoulder, saw it "fish tail", move sideways onto the other side of the road and hit a wall.

"I couldn't even guess, but I know it was going frighteningly fast," he said. "When it hit the wall it was like slow motion and I could see the car go up into the air."

Mr Giles, of Woodwell Road, Shirehampton, died from internal chest injuries and Mr Barter, of Bradley Crescent, Shirehampton, died from multiple injuries.

Mr Harper suffered a dislocated and fractured shoulder, three fractured ribs and a dislocated left knee when he was thrown from the car.

Mr Pitt and Miss McGregor were also seriously injured.

Miss McGregor told the inquest she had been given a lift home by Mr Giles many times and had never worried about his driving. But she said he "liked to go fast if he could" and she thought he had accelerated up to about 70mph that night before possibly clipping the left kerb.

Toxicology reports revealed Mr Giles had 116mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, above the drink-drive limit of 80mg.

In a statement, White Lion barmaid Georgina Ward said she served Mr Giles four pints of Stella Artois lager but he was not "drunk".

Passing a verdict of accidental death, assistant deputy coroner Dr Simon Fox said: "It seems to me that the accident happened because Mr Giles was driving too fast approaching the bend and was over the drink-drive limit for alcohol."

Family and friends of all involved in the crash were at the inquest.

Mr Barter's sister Sally, 27, said: "Sam was happy-go-lucky – a loveable rogue. Everyone misses him just for being him."

His mum Pat said: "Our families have known each other for years. Sam and Luke were inseparable – they were like brothers. There are absolutely no hard feelings towards Luke at all. It was an accident and that was the right verdict today."

The family thanked the police for their support and members of the public and medical staff who helped the car's occupants after the crash. Mr Giles' family also thanked those who helped.