A MAN and his teenaged sister died in a horrific road accident after their powerful car span into oncoming traffic, an inquest heard today.

Driver Bobby Roberts, 28, was nearly three times over the drink-drive limit and had taken cocaine when the tragedy happened but Gloucestershire Deputy Coroner David Dooley said his condition probably had little effect on the outcome.

As Bobby 28, his sister Jinny-Mae Cook 18 and another man were travelling towards Stroud on the A419 Ebley by-pass, a bald front tyre that had been rubbing against the car's suspension burst. the Gloucester inquest was told.

The VW Golf VR6 span across into the oncoming carriageway, colliding backwards with a Vauxhall going in the other direction, and rolled onto its roof in a ditch.

Jinny, who was probably not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown out and died at the scene. Bobby was trapped in the overturned car and was also pronounced dead.

The accident devastated the young people's mother Julie Bloodworth who just four years ago had herself suffered life-threatening injuries after she was run over and dragged beneath a car in a car park.

The inquest heard that Bobby and Jinny both lived at Brick Row, Stroud.

It was told that the suspension on Bobby's powerful Golf had been modified and it had also been fitted with wheels and tyres that were too wide.

None of the tyres had a legal amount of tread and the offside front that burst had been rubbing against the modified suspension.

Recording a conclusion that the two young people had died as the result of a road accident, Mr Dooley said the car had clearly been poorly maintained, and had incorrect tyres and wheels.

"The offside front tyre had been rubbing against the suspension and this could have caused it to puncture and suddenly deflate," he said.

"Bobby Roberts had been drinking to excess but in this type of collision, that may not have made any difference."

Witnesses told the court in Gloucester that prior to the accident, Bobby had been driving normally in a queue of traffic moving at about the speed limit of 60 miles an hour.

Donna Williams was driving towards Stroud she said, in the same direction as the dead man's car, which was behind her.

In her mirror, she saw it suddenly swerve onto the other side of the road with a squealing of tyres.

"It collided with another car going in the opposite direction and they both span round," she said.

The driver of the other car involved, Andrew Smith, said he regularly drove the road and knew it very well.

"I was driving towards Stonehouse at about 45 miles an hour and the cars coming towards me were maintaining normal distance between them," he said.

"I heard a screech of tyres and one of the oncoming cars started to drift quickly towards me.

"I braced myself because I knew it was going to hit me and when it did, the airbags went off and I couldn't see anything for a short time.

"The impact brought my car to an almost immediate stop and I felt pain in my ribs and both my knees."

When he got out of his car, he saw the VW upside down in the nearside ditch and there was still very loud music coming from it.

Vehicle examiner Peter Davies said the front suspension of the Golf had been lowered so that it came into contact with the drive shafts.

One of the dampers was not working at all he said, and the inside of the offside tyre had been rubbing against the modified suspension.

Collision investigator Pc Philip Reese said alcohol and cocaine in a driver's system would slow down his reaction time, but the accident happened so fast, he doubted if in this case, it would have made any difference.

"The cause of the accident in my view was the sudden deflation of the front tyre exacerbated by the modified suspension and the incorrect tyres," he added.