James Battrick faces prison after admitting causing the deaths of Hampshire teens Lily Butterfield-Godwin and Abbey Rogers while unfit to drive through drink or drugs

Now the man responsible for the deaths of two "young and vibrant" teenage friends faces jail after admitting driving while unfit through drink or drugs.

Lily Butterfield-Godwin and Abbey Rogers, both 19, died when the car they were in crashed into a wall after they were offered a lift home from The Stag Hotel in Lyndhurst.

The community was left devastated by their tragic deaths and hundreds of tributes and flowers were left at the scene of the crash on Gosport Lane for days afterwards.

Just minutes before the crash the pair were enjoying a night out and posed for photographs – thought to be their last taken together – shortly before getting in the car.

Yesterday James Battrick, 21, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing death by careless driving while unfit through drink or drugs and one charge of possession of cannabis.

During his hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court he was warned he could face jail as Judge John Harrow adjourned the case to allow a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Witnesses reported hearing a sound like a “small explosion” as the Mazda RX8 smashed into the wall on the night of December 13.

Lily and Abbey died at the scene and Battrick, along with a third passenger, suffered serious injuries.

More than 500 people united in memory of the two former Hounsdown School pupils to lay flowers and release balloons at nearby Bolton’s Bench, one of Lily and Abbey’s favourite meeting places.

Emotional mourners listened to music, read poetry and left tributes to the two friends and hugged each other for support.

Lily was a nanny at Teddies Nursery in Southampton and Abbey worked as a stylist at the Velvet Rooms hairdressing salon in Lymington. and colleagues were shocked by their sudden deaths and spoke highly of the young women.

James Battrick

Zoe Andrews, Teddies Nursery manager, said: “It was with great sadness that we learned our colleague Lily Godwin has passed away.

“Lily was a talented childcare professional for her work and for making a differenced shone out from her.

“Lily had worked hard for Bright Horizons for nearly two years as one of our valued apprentices.

“She made a huge difference to the nursery and was an inspiration to her colleagues and friends, and she will be very much missed.”

And Louise Purdy, owner of the Velvet Rooms, said Abbey had a “natural flair” and was hugely popular with clients.

She told the Daily Echo: “She took to hairdressing like a stylist with ten years’ experience.

“Within a month of working with us Abbey definitely became a leading member of staff – she was bubbly, very professional, and loved her job and her clients. She was a massive character in our salon.

“All the girls are completely devastated and now we have reopened it’s obvious to anyone there is a massive hole in our team that can never be replaced.”

As revealed by the Daily Echo, transport chiefs launched an investigation to look for any “risk factors” on the stretch of road after the crash.

The village was stunned by the event and Mark Rollé, chairman of Lyndhurst Parish Council, said: “Words at this time do fall desperately short in portraying the sense of loss felt by so many in the village after this weekend’s tragedy.

“To lose any loved one is terrible but to lose two such young and vibrant souls is just beyond anything one would wish to comprehend.

“Abbey and Lily were known to so many in the village through close friendships and more distant connections – they were very much part of the village.”

Battrick was handed an interim disqualification from driving until a formal ban period has been specified and was given unconditional bail until his sentencing on September 11.