FLOODING could have caused a tragic crash that killed a young police officer, it has been claimed.

Hampshire PC James Drew, who was 27, died after he lost control of his Skoda Octavia on the A31 Alresford road near Winchester and careered into a tree in the garden of a house.

PC Drew, a former Toynbee School pupil who lived in Chandler’s Ford, was discovered inside the wreckage by residents.

It has emerged that drainage problems near the crash site, close to the Percy Hobbs pub on the outskirts of Winchester, were raised last year.

County councillor Jackie Porter told the Daily Echo: “I feel absolutely devastated that this might have contributed. The water runs across the road at that point and there’s standing water on the road quite often.

“A member of the public spoke to me and said there was a lot of water there on the night before the accident.”

Cllr Porter said she met police, council staff and residents last year to discuss safety concerns.

Work was then carried out to improve lighting on safety barriers and resurface the carriageway – but drainage problems were not tackled.

Tributes to PC Drew, who was stationed in Alton police station, have continued to pour in as friends pay their respects.

Chris Bradshaw, 31, from Chandler’s Ford, grew up with PC Drew and had known him for 20 years.

He said: “I spoke to him three times in the two days before this happened. He was the most genuine bloke you could ever speak to. He had time for everybody – if you ever needed him, he was always there. He was an absolute diamond.”

Another pal, Joanna Goodchild from Southampton, told the Daily Echo: “He was such a well known and loved person. We are all in deep shock by what has happened.”