A SOUTHAMPTON student took his father's Mercedes and died when he smashed it into a van near Romsey, an inquest heard.

Tuncay Sen, 22, lost control of the C180 car on the A27 Southampton Road near Romsey Rapids before swerving into an oncoming Vauxhall Vivaro.

Mr Sen, of Crabwood Road, Maybush, sustained multiple injuries.

A student at Southampton University, he had only been married two months before the crash last September.

Giving evidence at Winchester Coroner's Court, the driver of the AA van, Neville North, said: "The lights of the car coming the other way towards me were moving from side to side. But he moved back onto his side of the road and I thought: He's okay now.' But then, all of a sudden, he slammed into the side of my van, turned me around, and I ended up against the wall."

Mr North was treated at the scene for cuts and bruises.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, deputy central Hampshire coroner Simon Burge said: "This was a specific act of rebellion or foolishness on the part of this young man."

Mr Burge said there was no evidence of alcohol or drugs in Mr Sen's system.