Driver error has been blamed for a crash in which a 23-year-old apprentice lost his life.

Coroner Roger Sykes said Matthew Gould, 23, most likely oversteered his Rover 25, causing him to lose control and crash into a tree.

Mr Gould, of Crownfields, Weavering, Maidstone, was on his way to work at Kemsley, near Sittingbourne, on Friday, December 21, when the accident happened on the A249 between Detling and Stockbury. He suffered multiple injuries and died soon afterwards in hospital.

But after the crash it transpired that although Mr Gould was on his way to work, he was supposed to be on a day off and had not realised.

Witness Amandeep Singh told the inquest, at County Hall, Maidstone, on Monday that he was in the fast lane when he saw Mr Gould's silver car behind him.

He said Mr Gould overtook him on the inside at a speed he estimated to be above 55mph. The Rover then swerved back in front of his car before spinning out of control.

"After a few seconds I saw his car jump from the back, like a hiccup, and then I saw the car slide," Mr Singh said.

Kent Police's forensic crash investigator, PC Andy Sutherland, said Mr Gould's car was in roadworthy condition and did not appear to have hit anything before the impact with a tree.

Oversteer by the driver was therefore the most likely explanation, he said. Mr Sykes, coroner for mid Kent and Medway, said: "He lost control, the car left the road and struck a tree. The cause of the loss of control appears to have been entirely driver-related."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Mr Gould had been due to complete a four-year apprenticeship with e.on at Kingsnorth Power Station in Hoo next month.