A FORMER Ellesmere Port man died in Austria after his vehicle left the road while overtaking.

Jason Roy Ball, 36, a scaffolder who grew up in the town, was killed on the night of December 21, 2004.

He'd been driving towards the village of Gutenhoffer-strasse in the district of Hindberg, where the divorced father-of-three was living with his partner Yvonne Biberhofer.

His inquest, held in Chester, heard Mr Ball left a nearby bar owned by a friend Fraser McGuill at 11.15pm to head to another premises.

Both men got into their vehicles. Mr Ball was driving a green Ford Mondeo, Mr McGuill accompanied by his wife was in a Toyota.

In a statement, Mr McGuill said Mr Ball had tried to overtake him and appeared in no difficulty but suddenly all he could see was his lights 'flashing all over the place'.

Mr McGuill stopped at the next junction but couldn't find his friend so went to a cafe for help - they eventually found his vehicle near railway tracks.

A report by Austrian police said Mr Ball lost control after hitting the hard shoulder. The car crashed into a field, splitting a tree in half, before rolling down an embankment.

A post-mortem examination carried out in the UK showed Mr Ball had died of multiple injuries.

His mother Linda, of Great Sutton, said Mr Ball had been 'not just a son but also my best friend'. He had been living in Austria for the past six years.

She said: 'We'd talk about everything together and spoke all the time on the phone.

Mr Ball was a keen musician who used to sing in a band and played the harmonica. He'd gone to Austria for work.

Verdict: Accidental death.