A "dedicated and talented" hairdresser died in the passenger seat of a car after it aquaplaned on the M20 and spun out of control.

Josie Archer-Smith, who lived in Herne Bay and worked at the Cloud Nine salon in Whitstable, had been en-route to Brighton to celebrate a friend's birthday.

The 22-year-old was travelling in the front passenger seat of a white Mercedes-Benz E220, with her friend Chloe Archibald driving and another pal, Annika Miller, sat in the back.

But tragedy struck when the driver lost control of the car in heavy rain, causing it to smash into a blue Mitsubishi L200 parked on the hard shoulder.

The accident happened on October 31 last year at about 2.20pm on the London-bound carriageway between junction 6 for Maidstone and junction 5 for Aylesford.

An inquest at County Hall in Maidstone today heard how the rain was a "contributory factor" to the fatal crash.

In a statement read at the hearing, Ms Archibald said they were travelling from Herne Bay to Brighton to celebrate her sister's 30th birthday.

"I drove along the Thanet Way, heading towards the M2. The weather was pretty bad. In fact, it was chucking it down," she said.

"As I drove along the M2 I don't remember any signs being displayed of weather warnings or speed restrictions or anything like that."

They reached the M20, which Ms Archibald said was "pretty busy".

"I was aware there was a lot of spray being thrown up from vehicles around me so I moved over to the outside lane before the collision occurred," she said.

However, disaster struck when the car travelled over surface water, causing the Mercedes-Benz to aquaplane and start to spin in an anti-clockwise direction.

Ms Archibald desperately tried to correct the spin, but this caused the car to rotate in the opposite direction towards the stationary Mitsubishi on the hard shoulder.

The pick-up truck had been in an earlier crash with a white Ford Kuga - which may have also fallen victim to aquaplaning, according to police.

"It felt like my steering wasn't working and the car was moving on its own accord to the middle lane," Ms Archibald added.

The passenger side of the Mercedes-Benz smashed into the Mitsubishi before veering across the carriageway to the crash barrier.

Ms Archibald said: "It was only when we came to a stop that Annika shouted, 'Josie'. I could see Josie was badly injured. It was at this point I got out and tried to get help."

'Not only was Josie a dedicated and talented hairdresser who was an example to us all, but brightened life for us...'

Medics rushed to the crash site and desperate efforts were made to revive Miss Smith, but she could not be saved and died at the scene.

"Josie was my best friend," Ms Archibald added. "This has had a massive effect on me."

A post-mortem examination revealed Miss Smith died from traumatic brain injury and a skull fracture.

A 50-year-old woman also suffered serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Ms Archibald passed a breathalyser test and no drugs were detected in her system. She had also not been on her phone, which was checked by police.

The court was told there have been 18 crashes over the past five years near the crash site in similar weather conditions and circumstances.

Assistant Coroner James Dillon will now consider whether to prepare a report with recommendations to prevent further deaths.

PC Masterson, who was part of the police investigation into the fatal crash, told the inquest: "I am satisfied that the weather conditions were a contributory factor in this collision."

Police found Ms Archibald had passed two digital warning signs which displayed 'service water, slow' - the closest to the crash site being 1.2 miles away.

However, five subsequent signs had not displayed the warning and Ms Archibald told police she did not remember seeing any.

In a heartfelt post on Facebook last year, staff at Whitstable hairdressing salon Cloud Nine paid tribute to "wonderful and lovely" senior stylist Miss Smith.

"Not only was Josie a dedicated and talented hairdresser who was an example to us all, but brightened life for us," they wrote.

"We feel that the world is a little darker today."

Many of Miss Smith's clients also shared their heartbreak at the news of her death.

One wrote: "I am so sorry and shocked to hear this. Josie was a beautiful young lady, inside and out. She had a wonderful natural way with people and it's an honour to have known her."

Another said: "Josie was so lovely - such a caring, bubbly young lady who had the world ahead of her. What a truly sad loss."

Other friends on Facebook have described Josie as "amazing and kind" and "the life and soul of the party".

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