A young decorator from Ellesmere Port was killed instantly when the powerful car he was driving crashed into a tree.

The inquest into Jack Neil's death heard that his BMW 5 Series was travelling at what is believed to have been 'significant speed' when it careered off Rivacre Road in Eastham, Wirral, on September 24.

The 22-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, but miraculously his best friend and front seat passenger Lewis Hughes only suffered minor injuries when he was ejected from the vehicle.

Neither Mr Neil nor Mr Hughes were wearing seatbelts, reports the Liverpool Echo.

At the Gerard Majella Courthouse in Kirkdale, Sgt Michael Cleary revealed his view that Mr Neil wearing a seatbelt would not have changed the outcome of the crash.

He said: “I don’t believe a seatbelt would have made a difference.

“The car was split in half, diagonally, from the driver’s post to the rear passenger’s post.

“The front seat passenger sustained slight injuries.

“I couldn’t put a figure on the speed and investigators have been unable to obtain that speed, but evidence would suggest [it was travelling] at a significant speed.”

Sgt Cleary added that there were no relevant markings on the carriageway, which might have caused Mr Neil’s BMW to skid, and the 5 Series car was in “full working order,” he said.

Coroner Andre Rebello told the inquest: “This is driver error.”

Sgt Cleary replied: “It appears that way, sir.”

Dr Rebello added: “That’s putting it mildly.”

Tributes to Mr Neil left in a memorial on Rivacre Road, Eastham

The coroner ruled Mr Neil died from multiple injuries, and recorded an accidental verdict into his death.

He told the 22-year-old’s family: “This is such a tragic loss and it will take a lot of healing.”

The family questioned why his body was “left for seven hours” inside the wreckage of the BMW before his loved ones saw him carried away from the scene.

But Mr Rebello informed them that wait had been necessary for investigators to probe the reasons behind the smash.