A MECHANIC died after veering off a country lane as he tested a customer's vehicle.

Gavin Langford, 25, crashed yards from the Reg Vardy garage where he worked.

The Smart Roadster he was driving swerved off the road and flipped onto its roof as he negotiated a left-hand bend on a road in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland.

Mr Langford suffered head injuries, and was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital, where he died several hours later, despite desperate efforts to save him.

Last night, his distraught mother spoke of her devastation at losing her son, who died doing the job he loved.

Hazel Langford, 58, said: "I don't know how I'm going to carry on without Gavin. I just wish I was with him.

"He loved being a mechanic. But to go like that is awful.

"At the moment I just don't want to live. He was my baby."

Mr Langford, who grew up in Berkshire, had been a mechanic since he left school at 16.

After the death of his father, Robert, Mr Langford, his mother, sister Wendy, 31, and brother Craig moved to Dunscar, Mulberry Park, Houghton, two-and-a-half years ago.

Mr Langford had worked as a mechanic at Reg Vardy's, one of the biggest car empires in the country, for only three months.

Boss Sir Peter Vardy said the death had stunned everybody at the company.

He said: "Gavin was a popular colleague and a very good technician, and this accident has come as a terrible shock.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this extremely sad time, and we would like to offer them our sincerest condolences."

The accident happened at 3.45pm on Thursday.