A CORONER blamed excessive speed and drinking for a crash that left two friends dead.

John Robson was celebrating his 18th birthday when Lee Craggs, 17, crashed his Citroen ZX Advantage at high speed.

He lost control of the car, which skidded, hit a wall and an electricity pole last year.

Mr Craggs died at the scene while Mr Robson was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

Police estimate Mr Craggs was driving at least 48mph in damp conditions through Anfield Plain, near Stanley, County Durham, on a road restricted to 30mph.

The Durham inquest heard Mr Craggs, of South View Gardens, Annfield Plain, was banned from driving by Consett Youth Court.

The accident happened at 9.10pm, on December 19, after the two friends met Matthew Carlion and Terry Longdon, both 20, from Stanley.

The Durham inquest heard yesterday that both survivors were so drunk they could barely remember what happened.

Mr Longdon, who was sitting in the front, suffered a fractured pelvis and broken ribs.

Tests showed Mr Craggs and Mr Robson had been drinking, and traces of cannabis were found in their blood.

Tests also revealed Mr Robson, of Coronation Terrace, New Kyo, near Stanley, had traces of the chemical MDMA and amphetamines in his system.

Recording a verdict of accidental death in both cases, North Durham Coroner Andrew Tweddle said: "It is clearly a most tragic set of circumstances."