A MAN who died after his car left the road and landed in Slapton Ley was two-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit and was not wearing a seatbelt, a coroner's court has heard.

At an inquest in Plymouth on Monday, coroner Ian Arrow ­considered evidence from experts about

the circumstances surrounding the death of yacht skipper Jethro Alsop, 37, who died on August 21 last year.

Mr Alsop was ­heading towards Kings-bridge after a night out with friends in Dartmouth when he crashed just after ­entering Torcross.

The silver BMW he was driving was found floating in the ley and his body was discovered in the water close to the vehicle.

Mr Arrow read statements from a range of witnesses, police and experts as mother Sue Alsop looked on, accompanied by two friends.

The post-mortem had revealed the cause of death to be a fractured neck, but the pathologist also reported that Mr Alsop had a blood alcohol level of 201 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of blood, showing that he 'had consumed a significant quantity of alcohol prior to driving'.

Statements were read from friends of Mr Alsop, who had been with him in the Dolphin pub in Dartmouth on the night of the crash.

Edward Carter recalled that he had joked about Mr Alsop not staying at his house as he 'snored too much', although Allan Pick and his partner had offered several times to let Mr Alsop stay with them.

When they parted at around 11.30pm, after Mr Alsop had drunk several pints of cider, Mr Pick said he seemed happy and normal and had said he was going to a local Indian restaurant for some food.

He was shocked to hear afterwards about the crash and said Mr Alsop had not appeared drunk and was certainly not falling about.

Statements were then read from residents and holidaymakers who had witnessed the crash or its immediate aftermath. All reported hearing a 'whoosh', and described how they had rushed to the scene and searched for the car and driver using lights on their mobile phones before calling 999.

A forensic vehicle examiner said the BMW had no mechanical defects that would have caused the accident, and also observed that there were no visible friction burns on the seatbelt – in his opinion, a seatbelt had not been worn. There was also no sign that the brake lights had been illuminated at the time of the crash.

Accident investigator PC Paul Frost said that marks on the road ­started just after a right-hand bend at the entrance to the village. The car had swerved onto the footpath, damaging bollards, before travelling across the road, hitting a bank on the opposite side and 'rolling and tumbling' across reeds and into the ley. Mr Alsop had been ejected from the car.

PC Frost estimated that the car had been travelling at between 56mph and 68mph when Mr Alsop began to lose control, more than 100 metres after the start of the 30-mile-per-hour speed limit. He added that there was no evidence that Mr Alsop wanted to harm himself or that any medical condition played a part.

PC Frost said that in his opinion a seatbelt might have saved Mr Alsop's life.

PC Abi Bedson said there was no relevant CCTV footage and no evidence of mobile phone use around the time of the crash. Police were fairly satisfied that Mr Alsop had not gone to the Indian restaurant, but had got in the car and left straight away.

Giving his verdict, Mr Arrow said the cause of death was a broken neck, caused when Mr Alsop was thrown from the ­vehicle, as he was not wearing a safety belt. The vehicle was being driven with excessive speed and Mr Alsop did not try to brake as he was intoxicated.

He added: 'If it's any consolation, I'm sure he knew very little about it.'

Afterwards, Mrs Alsop said: 'It's incidental really, but he didn't like wearing a seat belt. When he was 19 his car was "T-boned" and the driver's seat ended up right over on the ­passenger side. If he'd been wearing a seat belt he wouldn't have survived, so he got another 18 years of life.'

PC Ralph Delbridge, acting as family liaison officer, said: 'This is ­further confirmation

of why there's all the ­legislation and publicity around drink driving and the tragedy it can cause. This is a classic case that confirms why you don't do it. If he hadn't been under the influence, it's unlikely he would have been involved in an accident of this magnitude.'

An ex-Kingsbridge Community College student, Mr Alsop leaves behind fiancée Louise Kasteleijn, who lives in the Netherlands with their two young children, Mia Isabella and Alexander William.