An inquest has heard how a driver who died three days after an accident on a narrow lane on his way to his home in Emborough, was not wearing a seat belt.

Forty nine year old Jonathan James Myles crashed his car, a Range Rover with a personalised number plate along Cole's Lane in Radstock on April 17 this year.

He died three days later in Southmead Hospital from traumatic brain injuries.

At today's (November 18) re-opening of the inquest into his death, Tim Hayden, assistant coroner for Somerset, said that the driver not wearing a seat belt was definitely a contributing factor, while his partner, who was also in the car, was wearing one and suffered only minor injuries.

In his conclusion the assistant coroner ruled: " Jonathan Myles was driving under the influence of alcohol and at an inappropriate speed while not wearing a seat belt. He lost control of his vehicle and as a result suffered fatal injuries."

The inquest heard how the couple had gone to The Crown Inn in West Harptree after Mr Myles had delivered his milk tanker back to the depot. They were in his Range Rover and the couple sat outside the pub until around 11pm when they set off back to their home, Casa Mia in Emborough, crossing the A39 into Cole's Lane.

Mr Myles partner of four years, Ms Paula Ridley, said in a witness statement that she did not like the lane, a single lane track, because it had so many potholes. At sometime after 11pm she said that there was a roaring noise from the car as it picked up speed " Then all I can recall is everything being very quiet. I looked to my right and the air bag had gone off and had deflated.. but Jay was not there."

Ms Ridley found her partner lying someway along the road, just beyond where Cole's Lane was intersected by a bridle path and called the pub that they had just left. The pub staff in turn called the emergency services who were at the scene in around 12 minutes.

Ms Ridley added : " I think I was very lucky not to be hurt." The inquest also heard that the car was in good order and that the weather that night was clear and fine, so visibility was not a factor. A police report indicated that it had been a "relatively high speed incident" and , although there was no official record of it, Mr Myles had drank what a police report referred to " As an unknown but significant quantity of alcohol prior to driving. " From the scene it was recorded that the Range Rover in which the couple were travelling in, had hit a stone wall in the lane before rebounding diagonally and colliding with a second stone wall. Jonathan James Myles born September 15 ,1971, died April 20, 2021. Cause of death, Traumatic Brain Injury – Road Traffic Incident.