A motorist who died in a horrific Christmas Eve smash was over the drink-drive limit, an inquest heard last week.

Adrian Moore, 22, was killed instantly when the Ford Fiesta XR2 he was driving collided at speed with two other cars in Halifax Road, Keighley.

Tests later showed he had drunk just over one-and-a-half times the legal limit for driving.

Recording an accidental-death verdict on Mr Moore, an engineer, of Woodville Terrace, Bradford, coroner Roger Whitt-aker said alcohol had played a 'substantial part' in the tragedy and speed had been a contributory factor.

A witness to the accident, Philip Briscoe, said he was walking along Halifax Road that evening when he heard a car 'screaming down'.

He did not see the collision, but estimated the Fiesta's speed at 50-70mph. "It nearly hit the kerb - it made me jump," added Mr Briscoe.

Andrew Pickles said he was waiting to turn right when his Renault car was hit from behind by the Fiesta. "The crash spun me round and I was disorientated for a while," he said.

Madeleine Gordon said she was driving her Vauxhall Cavalier up Halifax Road when the Fiesta emerged from behind the Renault and crashed into her.

Accident investigator PC Peter Cuthbert told the inquest that the Fiesta had spun round after colliding with the Renault, slid sideways down the road and hit the oncoming car before coming to rest against a wall.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.