A CORONER has discounted any suggestion that two student friends had been racing following a death car crash in which one was killed after he hit a tree at almost 50mph.

An inquest on Tuesday heard that 20-year-old Charles Kershaw died after he lost control of his Mini Cooper on a bend whilst travelling at about 65 mph. He hit the tree at between 45mph and 49mph.

He was following his friend Thomas Horrobin, who was driving a MG Rover, down Wilmslow Road in Mottram St Andrew at 9pm on Sunday, February 6, 2005.

He lost control of his vehicle coming out of a bend, swerved across the opposite lane and crashed into a tree.

At an inquest at Macclesfield Town Hall Cheshire Coroner Mr Nicholas Rheinberg said there was no evidence to suggest that the two boys had been racing and recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Charles' mother Elizabeth of Macclesfield Road, Prestbury, told how her son, a first year chartered surveyor student at Sheffield University, had gone with his friend Thomas to his Smith Lane home in Mottram St Andrew in separate cars, with Thomas taking the lead in his MG Rover.

Following the accident, Thomas was interviewed three times under police caution and denied racing.

He told police that just before their cars came to a blind summit on the road Charles closed the gap on Thomas and he pulled away to widen it.

He also told officers at the time: "It's always been competitive with me and Charles. It wasn't racing. It was just a bit of banter."

And he added that coming out of a later bend in the road he saw Charles's headlights turn sharply to the right as if he was turning into the driveway, so he drove a little further down the road to the Bull's Head pub where he stopped and called his friend on his mobile.

There was no reply so he drove back and saw that Charles had crashed. Several cars were also stopped at the scene.

One witness, Peter Allen, said in a statement that Thomas said to him "well, we were racing", although Thomas later denied in a police interview that he spoke to the witness at the time of the crash.

After the accident Charles was rushed by ambulance to Macclesfield Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

Tests showed there was no alcohol in Charles's system.

Margaret Bailey, who had been driving towards Charles and Thomas at the time of the accident, told the inquest that she saw the Mini poking out from behind the MG as if it might be trying to overtake.

She said she slowed down because she was concerned that she may hit it. She said: "Suddenly the driver turned the wheel to the right and shot off the road."

Thomas told the coroner he was not aware of Charles trying to overtake him and that they had not overtaken each other on any other occasion when they had driven down the road together in the past.

Speaking at the time of his death, his grief-stricken parents Philip and Elizabeth Kershaw said he was loved by all his family and friends and added that the former Ryleys School pupil in Alderley Edge was a keen oarsman and Manchester United fan, attending all the home games at Old Trafford with his dad.