AN INQUEST has heard that a warning sign was facing the wrong way at a point on a road where a Winsford man died in a car crash.

Matthew Whittle, 18, of Denton Close, died following an incident on the A533 Bostock Road on March 19. Chloe Kozyra, 16, of Over Peover, also died when the Mini Mayfair they were travelling in left the road after a night out with friends in Goostrey.

Janet Napier, deputy coroner for Cheshire, will now write to Cheshire County Council expressing her concerns that chevrons located at the bend the car left the road at were facing the wrong way.

She said: "I will be writing to the highways authority because this is not good at all. The driver was unfamiliar with the road and full warnings weren't there."

At the inquest held in Crewe Law Courts on Wednesday, it was heard that five people were travelling in the Mini although it was only designed to carry four.

It was also revealed that two of the seatbelts were not operational.

PC Steve Binns, collision investigation officer at Cheshire Police, said: "The chevron board had gone and there was no warning. It is adjacent to the tree which the car collided with."

The Mini was fitted with wider tyres at the rear than the front and PC Binns believes it could have been a contributory factor in the car leaving the road.

Matthew was taken to Leighton Hospital but died from his injuries later the next day.

Jean Whittle, Matthew's mother, said: "We went to the hospital and were told he had brain damage. We had to make the decision to turn the machine off."

Dr Napier said: "It is an unbelievably tragic case when teenagers are out enjoying themselves and suddenly there is this major collision with a tree."

A verdict of accidental death was recorded for both victims.