A BUILDER from Yate who died after he lost control of his car on a road in Old Sodbury and collided with a van had three over-inflated tyres, an inquest heard.

Dale Morgan, 42, who lived in Witcombe, was killed on February 2 after a head-on crash between his red Ford KA and a white Renault van just after a left-hand bend on the A432 Badminton Road, towards the A46.

An inquest into his death took place at Avon Coroner's Court in Flax Bourton today and Avon and Somerset Police's forensic collision investigator, PC Julian Chambers, gave evidence.

He said that said three of the tyres on Mr Morgan’s car were found to have not been inflated correctly.

One tyre was reported to have been over inflated to 45psi, when the recommendation is 30psi, and another was 38psi when it should have been 26psi.

PC Chambers noted that the measuring of tyre pressure can be confusing due to the differences between psi and bar units.

A third tyre was found to be under-inflated due to corrosion to the alloy which had lead to air escaping.

PC Chambers added: “There is no evidence either vehicle was travelling at excessive speed, over the 40mph speed limit."

He concluded that “nothing could have been done to avoid the collision” but that the tyre pressure could have made Mr Morgan’s car “unstable” and caused him to lose control.

Mr Morgan’s sister Kim, who attended the inquest with her father, mother, husband and late brother’s partner, told the Coroner that there had been another crash on the same road on the day her brother died.

She questioned whether a safety assessment should be carried out on the road to avoid future crashes.

Assistant Coroner Terence Moore said that if he became aware of more serious crashes on the road he would suggest action.

He recorded a verdict of death by road traffic collision.