A YOUNG man who died when his car spun off the road and hit a tree was probably to blame for the accident, an inquest heard.

Andy Cruickshank, 21, of Iden Green, Cranbrook, died on April 22 when the car he was driving careered off the road.

Moments before the crash his friend Nick Packham, who had been a passenger in the car, had told him: "I think you're driving a bit fast." The inquest at Tunbridge Wells was told it was impossible to confirm how fast the car had been travelling.

Mr Curickshank, a former student at Wilmington Grammar School for Boys at Dartford, and Mr Packham were in Mr Cruickshank's Peugeot 306 travelling to Cranbrook for a night out. Friends Richard (Dicky) Gunson and Emma Ettingham were following in a car behind.

Mr Packham, who was seriously injured, said: "Obviously Andy was racing a little bit. He was having a bit of fun with Dicky, trying to leave him behind."

PC Brian McDommell, of Kent Police's crash investigation unit, said: "In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, the primary cause of the crash appears to have been driver related." Verdict: accidental death.