THE deaths of two women on the A19 last year on their way to a bowls match were caused by unlawful killing, a coroner decided yesterday.

The lorry driver involved in the accident, Paul Simpson, 30, of the The Avenue, Seaham, east Durham, must now wait for the Crown Prosecution Service to decide if a careless driving charge against him should be changed.

Relatives of Mary Waugh, 70, and Patricia Packham, 53, both of Hartlepool, said they were "over the moon" at north Durham Coroner Andrew Tweddle's verdict.

Mary, known as Mae, Waugh, of Moyne Gardens, and Patricia Packham, of Warren Court, both died of multiple injuries after the lorry ploughed into the back of their cars parked on the A19, near Peterlee.

The friends, who had been on their way to a bowls tournament in Sunderland last July as part of a group, had stopped on a stretch with no hard shoulder after one of the cars had a flat tyre.

Mr Tweddle, who had postponed making his decision at the inquest last week so he could consider the legal implications of an unlawful killing verdict, said he had been influenced by the evidence that Mr Simpson had between 12 and 13 seconds to avoid the cars, but failed to brake or swerve.

Mr Simpson could not remember what happened. He wept when he said: "All I can remember is braking and there was a bang."

Summing up Mr Tweddle said that, after hearing and reading legal arguments, he took the view that it was within his powers to record a verdict of unlawful killing.

Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Waugh's younger sister, Nancy Lake, of Billingham, said she was pleased with the coroner's decision. "An awful lot of people knew my sister and Mrs Packham, and a lot of people will miss them."