Fatal trip for best friends

Published on 1st March 2007 in News

FRIENDS TO THE END: Rob Birch (left) and pal Al Jones were both killed as their black Honda sports car careered off the road into Westfield Banks pumping station last October.

Two best friends were fatally injured after their car ploughed into fencing round a pumping station near Goole, an inquest heard last week.24-year-old Robert Birch, originally from Goole, and 22-year-old Alastair Jones, of High Street, Hook, died on Monday, October 9 when the black Honda sports car they were travelling in careered off the road and through the metal fence surrounding the pumping station on Westfield Banks, between Hook and Boothferry Bridge.

Hull Coroner's Court was told last Thursday how Rob, who had recently bought a home in Newark, with his fiancée Francine Lister, had returned to visit his father in Airmyn on the day of the accident.

Francine, who met Rob while at university in Coventry, was studying at York University and after dropping her off at Doncaster train station in the Fiat Punto they shared, Rob drove to Airmyn to work on his new car, a black Honda S2000 which his dad was looking after in his garage.

In a statement read to the inquest Rob's father, Philip Birch, told how his son was an experienced driver, a 'petrol head' who had been around cars throughout his life and had even driven in several foreign countries, taking Francine touring around France on his motorbike when they finished university.

"Rob had only driven around 30 to 50 miles in the Honda," said Philip.

"He phoned earlier that day to say that he had the day off and that he was coming to see me while Francine was at university."

After collecting Francine from university and bringing her back to his father's garage in Airmyn, Rob drove her to Hook in the sports car so that he could show it to his friend Al, who had moved back to the area since finishing a degree in Business Studies at the University of Leicester.

A keen musician with an unbridled love of photography, Al's father Peter Jones told the court in a statement that his son was "a genuinely good person who would do anything for anyone."

Mr Jones told how he was talking to a neighbour outside his home in High Street, Hook, when he saw Rob pull up in the sports car with Francine in the passenger seat.

He said: "When I saw Rob leaving, it was Al in the passenger seat and he waved at me. Francine came into the house with me and my wife Susan."

When the pair failed to return home, Rob's fiancee Francine and Al's father went looking for them. They learned there had been an accident at Westfield Banks.

The inquest heard that Herbert Timm, who has a farming business based on Westfield Lane, saw the sports car seconds before the accident as he parked his car to inspect a crop. In a statement read to the court, he told how the car was travelling at a high speed along Westfield Lane.

He said: "The weather was fine and dry that day, and the road was dry but it is not suitable for cars travelling at high speeds.

"The speed was so excessive that I felt a draught as the car passed and I noticed that the engine was very loud."

Richard Henderson, from Goole, was cycling along Westfield Lane when the car passed him, travelling towards Boothferry Bridge.

"I was shocked at the speed the car was going at," he told the court. "I thought 'that's fast', but I didn't feel in danger."

Mr Henderson said that he did not see the accident happen, but saw the car 'fishtail' seconds before the crash, estimating that it was travelling at up to speeds of up to 80mph. The speed limit on the road is 60mph.

He added: "I rang 999 as soon as I heard the bang. At the scene, I saw that the car had skidded across the gravel, hit the pumping station and gone through the fence to the concrete wall of the station."

Paramedics arrived quickly, but both Rob and Al were pronounced dead at the scene of the horrific accident. Pathologist John Read told the court that both men died from serious multiple injuries.

A full inspection of the car from vehicle examiner David Norris showed that both men were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident, and the car was in "good order, free from any defect that could have contributed to the incident."

Pc Tim Clark from Humberside Police told the court that no other vehicle was involved in the accident, but the sports car was travelling close to the verge and it is thought that Rob lost control on a bend in the road and overcompensated with his steering as he tried to regain control.

He said: "Due to the position and speed of the vehicle, the steering was inappropriate with an excessive input for the situation.

"Robert Birch had a good knowledge of the area and had driven a number of different types of vehicles. He was an experienced driver but had not driven the Honda much, and could have been unsure of the workings of the vehicle."

A post-mortem showed that neither of the pair had been drinking.

Coroner Geoffrey Saul recorded a verdict of accidental death.