AN apprentice motor mechanic who died shortly after last Christmas, was driving "slightly too fast" on a Monmouthshire country road when his car spun and hit a hedgerow containing tree stumps.

Ashley Thomas, 19, of Usk, died at the scene in Groesonen Road, Dingestow, on December 27 2017, despite the efforts of his 15-year-old girlfriend, his front seat passenger, who got out of the wrecked Ford Fiesta and flagged down other drivers.

An inquest was told they stayed overnight at Mr Thomas' family home, and set out the next morning for breakfast at Raglan services.

His mother Olwyn Thomas described her son as an "able and confident" driver who grew up driving tractors and other farm machinery.

His girlfriend told police he was "always safe" and "would never put them in a dangerous situation".

Finding the services busy, they set off for Monmouth services instead. She said they passed under the A40 bridge and went up a hill with bends at the top, where the car suddenly began to spin.

Mr Thomas swore and put out on brakes, but a couple of seconds later they hit a hedge, driver's side on.

Getting out and finding her mobile phone in the mud, she called 999. Mr Thomas, initially unresponsive, then sat up and pulled his knees to his chest.

Despite the efforts of other drivers and paramedics however, he died, having sustained lung and liver injuries, fractured ribs and sternum, and suffered blunt vehicular trauma.

PC Christopher Goddard, of the Gwent Police collision investigation unit, said the road, with a 60mph limit, was not icy, it was fine and clear, and there was nothing wrong with the car.

Tyre marks indicated it did not quite move into the oncoming lane, and the wheels had been rotating and sliding sideways. The car also took some "severe" steering to the left, going into a "very, very quick spin".

The dashcam cut out seconds before the incident, but data indicated a 44mph speed under the bridge, increasing up the hill.

Just before the cut-out, the speed was 69mph, and at the point of the tyre marks PC Goddard said they suggested a speed of 59mph.

He added that in theory the slight right hand bend and the crest of the hill can be taken at 81mph, but in tests he could not get above 70mph, his vehicle becoming "completely unstable" at that speed.

"At 60(mph) the car would start to feel unsettled," said PC Goddard, and over 70mph there was a risk of losing control.

He said that while most people would brake if they felt the car becoming unstable, that is the wrong thing to do, and taking your foot off the accelerator exaggerates the loss of control.

Senior coroner for Gwent Wendy James concluded Mr Thomas died as a result of a road traffic collision, and was driving "slightly too fast for the geometry of the road".

"This is a very, very tragic loss of a very young life, made even more poignant by the evidence that states how safety conscious Ashley was," she said.