IT is every parent’s worst nightmare – the loss of a child.

But a Hampshire father has told of the night he lost his eldest daughter in a car crash in the hope he may save other young lives.

The 23-year-old was four times the drink-drive limit and died instantly when she lost control of her car and collided with a van.

Now her father is getting behind Hampshire Police’s Smashed drink-drive campaign, a Christmas crack-down on drink driving which runs until New Year’s Day.

His daughter died in a head-on crash on the A323 near Fleet, on November 13 last year .

Her father, who does not wish to be named, pleaded with anyone considering getting behind the wheel after having alcohol to not do it.

He said: “You can’t imagine the pain you could leave behind, either for your family or for someone else’s.”

He said the memory of that night would haunt him and his family for the rest of their lives, from the police officer knocking on the door and asking him to sit down.

“To lose someone you love in such a terrible way causes indescribable pain, not least because I had to work out how I was going to tell my children their big sister had died,” he said.

But, when he later found out that his daughter had been drinking, he said it made the pain “more agonising”.

He said he wanted people to see the devastation people can cause by drinking and driving.

“It’s a split second decision which can have far-reaching consequences,” he added.

“My daughter was a kind-hearted, loving and caring individual who went out of her way to put others first.

“She made a mistake. One that she paid for with her life and one we’re still reeling from as a family.”

Officers from Hampshire’s Roads Policing Unit will this month be showing the public the Vauxhall Corsa his daughter was driving in a bid to bring their message about the consequences of drink-driving home.

The car will be in town and city centres across the two counties from 7pm until 11pm on Friday, Saturday and on student club nights in a bid to target the 20-24 year age group, the worst offenders.

“It can’t fail to move you,” said Sergeant Jay Hewes, who was at the scene of the crash.

“She was not any different from the hundreds of people we pull over every year who fail a breath test.

“She was not a bad person and that’s not how people will remember her. But it only took one wrong decision to devastate the lives of everyone who loved her.”

Police are releasing a series of four short films to put across their message to would-be drink drivers daily from tomorrow and will chart the response to the fatal crash from the 999 call to the knock at her parents’ door, featuring the emergency services and the father.

Police are asking members of the public across the two counties to text 80999 to report anyone they suspect of drink driving or being drug impaired behind the wheel.

Anyone witnessing a drink drive offence in progress can call 999.