A MAN who died in a fireball car accident was more than twice the drink-drive limit, an inquest was told.

Hours after arriving home by taxi from a night out in Middlesbrough, Robert Burns drove himself back into town.

Witnesses saw his Citroen Saxo travelling at high speed down Marton Burn Road, Middlesbrough, when it lost control on a sharp bend. It left the road, hit a tree, and burst into flames.

Passer-by Cheryl Blenkinsopp, of Brettenham Avenue, Middlesbrough, saw the crash that killed the 29-year-old process worker instantly.

"The rear end went up into the air and the car spun round 45 degrees,'' she said in a statement to an inquest in Middlesbrough. Pathologist Mustansir Nurbhai said death would have been instant in the collision - before the fire.

Cleveland Police crash investigator PC Neil Empson told Teesside Coroner Michael Sheffield that the fuel lines of the car had been severed in the crash and an electric short circuit in the wiring had ignited the leaking petrol.

Mr Burns, of Nightingale Road, Eston, had been out with his sister and several friends.

Mr Sheffield, said: "He had had a certain amount to drink, but for some reason he decided to get his car out and come back into Middlesbrough."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.