Curtis Jepson, 26, was killed after 'accelerating harshly' on a wet road just a short distance from the garage in Doncaster where he worked and had just serviced the car.

A driver following him captured the entire collision on Balby Carr Bank on February 17 this year on his dashcam and described seeing the Mustang strike a sewage pumping station and an access bridge on the Junction 4 industrial estate before coming to rest in the water-filled ditch. Mr Jepson died at the scene from a fractured skull.

The inquest at Doncaster Coroner's Court today was attended by Curtis's father Paul Jepson who said his son, who lived in Intake, 'loved cars' and that they had plans to eventually open a workshop together to restore classic models.

Mr Jepson added that Curtis 'loved the thrill of a big engine' and had owned powerful cars before, but was not reckless and respected vehicles. A postmortem found no alcohol or drugs in his system.

Evidence was also provided by Matthew Meads, the co-owner of ARN Diagnostics, where Curtis had worked for around six years.

According to Paul Jepson, Mr Meads had referred to himself as being 'scared' by the power of the Mustang on previous occasions, as it belonged to a regular customer. He believed it may have been 'set up' for racing, though police found no modifications or defects to the car when it was inspected.

Mr Meads said it was normal procedure for staff to test drive cars they had just serviced, and at around 5pm the Mustang's owner rang the garage to say that he had been alerted by his vehicle's technology system that it had come to rest in the ditch.

Police forensic collision investigator Kieran O'Connor told the inquest that when the dashcam footage and CCTV from the business park was reviewed, Curtis was 'driving normally' on his journey up White Rose Way and onto Balby Carr Bank and was travelling at a similar speed to other traffic. He was then captured 'accelerating harshly' and the car's rear slid, causing him to lose control.

The road was damp on the day but there was no ice present and brake tests conducted by police found grip levels on the surface were normal. There were no defects found on the road.

Mr O'Connor added that the Mustang was a fairly new vehicle in good condition and a good state of repair. He added that it was impossible to say whether its stability controls had been turned off before the journey, but said this was 'unlikely' given Mr Jepson's attitude towards cars.

Mr O'Connor's report concluded that environmental, weather and mechanical factors had been ruled out as contributory causes and that 'the actions of the driver' were the main cause.

Assistant coroner for Doncaster Simon Tait agreed that Curtis had been 'driving reasonably' up until the moment he lost traction and recorded a conclusion of death in a road traffic accident.

Curtis is also survived by his mother, Marie, and girlfriend Lauren Barker, an artist.

ARN Diagnostics said in a tribute: "Curtis, you will be forever in our hearts and missed beyond words. We are all truly heartbroken. Thank you all for your beautiful comments and messages, they really have given us comfort in what can only be described as our darkest hour. Curtis will be missed tremendously. We are blessed to have had six years with him and he’ll never be forgotten. These messages just reinforce how much he was loved and respected. Bless you Curtis we are heartbroken but you leave us with so many fond memories."

Curtis Jepson inquest: Yorkshire mechanic, 26, died in crash while test driving powerful Ford Mustang