Couple died as crash car rolled 30ft

Liam Normington, 22, who was driving, and his 20-year-old girlfriend Rebecca Robinson were killed in the crash, which happened after several days of snow had fell last December.

An inquest in Hull packed with grieving relatives and friends was told the pair had gone to York and skidded on a bend at Arras Hill on the A1079 on their way home to Hull. The car flipped, before rolling down the near vertical slope and ending up on its roof, its windscreen shattered and roof buckled. A police officer went down to the car, but both were unresponsive.

The driver in the other car, sales manager Michael Baker, who was travelling from Cherry Burton to York, said that as he approached the bend, a silver car appeared and veered suddenly onto his side of the road, possibly broadside.

He hit the brakes and then heard an "incredibly loud bang".

In a statement he said: "The car had stalled on impact. When I got out of the car I remember being confused as there was no car in sight."

He walked over to the side of the road and looking down could see the wrecked vehicle at the bottom. He added: "I was in absolute shock at the realisation of the horror of the accident."

Mr Normington, a refrigeration engineer of Airmyn Avenue and Miss Robinson, of Dundee Street, both in Hull, had been going out with each other for five years but had split up before getting back together on the Thursday before they died.

The keen sportsman who played for West Hull Rugby League had passed his driving test the first time aged 17 and had bought his silver Citroen C2 in 2008.

Christopher Normington, Mr Normington's father, described the pair as "joined at the hip."

In a statement Ms Robinson's mother Dilys said Rebecca, the youngest of her three children who worked as a beauty therapist, was a "lovely, pretty girl who was kind and overly generous".

She said if she had known where they were going she would not have let Mr Normington take her daughter, adding: "They were even saying on the TV not to travel because of the appalling weather."

Other witnesses travelling along the road the same afternoon included Mark Jennings, an off duty police officer, heading to Manchester Airport. He was travelling at between 30 and 35 miles per hour which he thought was safe for the conditions.

His attention was caught by the hatchback because it was driving a "bit too fast", around 10 to 15mph faster than other vehicles. He saw the accident in his mirror: "It skidded for a split second, then flicked up into the air. I am quite positive all four wheels were in the air. I seem to remember seeing the base of the car. The car flipped over and disappeared from my view."

Another driver, Ronald Smith, said all the traffic was driving slower than normal, but noticed the Citroen tailgating one vehicle and overtaking another vehicle in a "sharp manoeuvre".

Both cars were found to be free of defects prior to the accident.

Mr Baker admitted using his mobile phone shortly before the crash, but accident investigator Ian Charlton said it was impossible to say whether it was being used at the time of the collision. He did not think it contributed to the accident.

In his report which was read to the court he noted Mr Normington's "inappropriate" speed in the poor weather and road conditions, adding: "I am satisfied that Mr Normington lost control and as a result entered the opposing carriageway and came into conflict with Mr Baker's VW Passat."

Geoffrey Saul said he was satisfied that the cause of death was accidental.