ALCOHOL was a major factor in the death of a 34-year-old driver in a crash which happened on the way to his father's funeral.

Steven O'Neill's Golf GTI ploughed into the back of a lorry late at night near the M3 Winchester services last October. A Winchester inquest heard that there was a half-empty bottle of brandy at the scene and that Mr O'Neill's blood-alcohol level had been found to be 180mg, compared to the legal limit for driving of 80mg.

Crash investigator, Anthony Johnston, said: "That level of alcohol has to have an effect."

The hearing was also told that there was no sign of braking at the scene and that the car had been travelling at about 85mph.

Mr O'Neill and his partner, Vivien Powell-Smith, who was severely injured in the crash, had to be cut out of the wreckage while their nine-month-old daughter was rescued from the back of the car.

They had been travelling from Peterborough to New Milton for his father's funeral.

Coroner, Grahame Short, said he was satisfied that Mr O'Neill had died from multiple injuries as a result of the accident.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, he said: "I would like to offermy sympathy to the family, particularly to Mrs O'Neill, who has lost both a husband and a son in quick succession."