A YOUNG driver who was twice the drink-drive limit was killed "in a fleeting second" after fooling around behind the wheel.

Shaun Gornall,18, died instantly after colliding head-on with another car in Preston New Road, Samlesbury.

His friend James Blackshaw, who was in the car with him, said he had pleaded with him to stop acting "daft". But he said the apprentice engineer had responded by saying "what, like this?" as he made the car swerve across the full width of the road, near to Samlesbury Aerodrome.

Deputy coroner Carolyn Singleton revealed that Shaun, of Bankside Barn, Longsight Road, Clayton-le-Dale, was a friend of her own daughter and his death had affected her badly.

She said: "She was stunned because a friend had lost his life in a fleeting second. It brought home to her the fact that life is fragile and hangs by a thread.

"Parents' natural instinct is to protect their children. When they reach Shaun's age you can't do that, they are out on their own and have to take responsibility. They learn that a lapse in concentration or an error of judgement can have calamitous consequences, as in this case.

"Shaun had consumed almost double the legal amount of alcohol, his driving was erratic to say the least and it is a great tragedy that he paid the ultimate price."

James re-lived the terrifying moment they rounded a bend on the wrong side of the road in the early hours of January 12 and he managed to brace himself before they collided head on with a car travelling in the opposite direction.

"When I opened my eyes Shaun was slumped over the steering wheel with his arms hanging by his side," said James, of Cronshaw Drive, Langho.

"There were flames coming from the bonnet and I realised I had to get out but I couldn't open the door and I had to be helped out by some people who had stopped."

The inquest heard that Shaun suffered a severe head injury.

Three young men travelling in the other car all needed hospital treatment and the driver, Ibrahim Mall suffered the most serious injuries.

Earlier Shaun and James had been drinking in the Millstone pub and then gone to a party at a house in Branch Road, Mellor.

James said he was told there was an argument and he went outside to find Shaun trying to get into his Renault Clio and two other people trying to stop him.

"He was angry with something and that made him more agitated," said James.

He said people had to jump out of the way when Shaun reversed off the drive and drove off at speed.

James called his friend on his mobile phone and persuaded him to return to the party.

He said he suggested they go for a walk and talk about things but Shaun said he wanted to drive away from the house so no-one could see his car.

James said he got into the car and added: ""I knew he had been drinking and I just wanted him to stop."

He said he thought Shaun had been trying to get control of the car just before they crashed.

Motorway patrol officer PC Edward Connell, who lives at the house next door to where the party was held, told how he had been woken in the early hours by the sound of two raised male voices, one pleading with the other "Don't drive, don't drive."

PC Connell said he was wakened again 15 minutes later by the sound of a car driving off and, after hearing on his personal radio there had been a crash, he got dressed and drove to the scene.

He broke down in tears as he told the inquest that he had immediately recognised Shaun as someone he knew.

"It was a horrific site even for someone like me who has been on the force for 21 years," said PC Connell.

He said the party had not been a rowdy affair and he had not been disturbed until he heard the exchange between Shaun and the other man.

The coroner, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, said James was to be commended for the actions he took to try to prevent Shaun from driving.