A father-of-one was significantly over the drink-drive limit when he crashed off the road while being pursued by police, an inquest heard today.

Mathew Young, of Wroslyn Road, Freeland, near Witney, died when his green Rover 620 came off the A4095 between Witney and Long Hanborough and crashed into trees in the early hours of Sunday, November 11, 2007.

A jury at Oxford Coroner’s Court heard the 31-year-old lorry driver had been drinking throughout the evening after a family argument and, according to pathologist Dr Godman Greywoode, was three times over the legal drink-drive limit.

Mr Young’s friend Matthew Ruddle told coroner Nicholas Gardiner that on the evening of the accident the pair had been in a pub in Freeland until closing time.

When they returned home the two men carried on drinking in the living room and Mr Young left the room.

He then told the court he heard the front door close and assumed Mr Young had gone outside to smoke a cigarette, until he heard the car start.

Mr Ruddle said: “I sent a text to him saying ‘I can’t believe you just got in the car’.

“I assumed he was going to (his girlfriend) Natasha’s house (in Witney).

“That was the last thing I heard until the following morning.”

Pc Neal Templey and Pc Timothy Pavey said they were out on patrol when they saw Mr Young’s car and decided to follow it on Saturday night, shortly before midnight.

When he made what appeared to be a last-minute turn into Witney’s Madeley Park housing estate after spotting them, they ran a check on the car and were told it was uninsured. However that information was out of date and he was insured, Mr Gardiner said.

After following the car slowly, the pair turned on their blue lights to tell Mr Young to pull over.

The jury then heard how Mr Young pulled back out on to the main road and accelerated off, and the two police officers decided to pursue him on the 50mph road.

Taxi driver Doreen Green said she had just picked up a family from Eynsham Hall when she saw the Rover speed past.

She said: “I would think it was between 80 and 90 miles an hour. Then it vanished round the bend.”

According to Ms Green, 15 to 20 seconds later, the police car followed at a slightly slower speed.

After a short pursuit, Pc Templey told the court he lost sight of Mr Young’s vehicle and when the police car reached a straight road they decided to turn back and look for him in the direction they had just travelled in.

They then discovered Mr Young’s car had veered off a bend in the road, and crashed through bushes into a tree.

They called for help and tried to get into the car, but decided they would not to be able to safely give him first aid.

Paramedics pronounced Mr Young dead at the scene.

The inquest continues.