RECKLESS driving at high speed killed a motorist whose car hit another vehicle head-on after crossing double white lines on a twisting country road, an inquest heard yesterday.

Craig Pittaway, 29, died from multiple injuries when his Nissan Micra reached a speed of up to 80mph before crashing into an oncoming Vauxhall Vectra, on the Knaresborough-Boroughbridge road near Ferrensby, North Yorkshire, in March.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Geoff Fell said: "Police mount regular campaigns about how speed kills. If anybody doubts that message, the events of March 1 sadly confirm it."

Mr Fell said the speed at which Mr Pittaway, of Topcliffe Road, Sowerby, Thirsk, was "beyond his capabilities and that of his Nissan Micra car".