A young motorcyclist died after ploughing into two cars in a horrific accident on one of Winchester's most dangerous roads, an inquest heard.

Jeremy Hall, aged 20, of Rowdell Cottages, Ropley, died of his injuries after the crash on Good Friday this year.

The promising art and graphics student at Peter Symonds' College and part-time lifeguard at Winchester's River Park Leisure Centre had been riding back from Haslemere, Surrey, with his friend, Paul Holloway, on the Friday afternoon.

The inquest heard that Mr Hall had been on the wrong side of the road at a bend near the Beauworth crossroads on the A272 between Cheriton and Winchester.

He crashed into an oncoming blue VW Golf, driven by Louise Tumor, who was on her way to visit friends in Lewes, Sussex, with her nine-year-old son Ben.

After the collision, Ms Tumor, who was not present at the inquest, crashed through a hedgerow and into a field behind the road. Jeremy Williams, who was driving behind Ms Tumor, swerved to avoid the oncoming motorcyclist.

Mr Hall was then flung from his bike and crashed into a white Renault Kangoo van, before ending up in the road.

Winchester Coroners' Court heard that Mr Hall was a relatively inexperienced motorcyclist and his Honda CBR 600 motorcycle was limited to 35bhpmeaning it could not travel faster than about 70mph. Mr Hall's speed at the time of collision was estimated at 55 miles per hour.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, deputy coroner, Simon Burge, said: "This was a tragic accident involving a young and inexperienced motorcyclist."

No-one else was seriously hurt in the accident.