A man has told how he rescued a five-year-old boy from the wreckage of a crash which killed his father and his girlfriend.

Passing driver Wayne Taylor lifted Joshua Pickett through the rear window of the Peugeot 306 and wrapped him in a coat, an inquest was told.

Joshua's father Tony Pickett and Mr Pickett's girlfriend, Lucy Hampshire, died when their car collided with a Ford Escort in Ditchling Road, Brighton, last March.

Mr Taylor, of Sackville Gardens, Hove, was the first at the scene with his wife Emma. He told the hearing how he tried to comfort Joshua.

He said at first he ran to the Ford Escort and found the driver trapped and injured.

Mr Taylor said: "At that moment I heard a cry for help from the other car. It was a woman's voice. I ran toward the Peugeot. In the light from our car I could see Joshua's face. His eyes were caught in the headlights.

"Joshua was trying to talk to his father. I tried to comfort him."

Joshua had suffered a head wound but escaped major injury.

Mr Taylor said his wife stayed with Ms Hampshire, whom he believes died while she was talking to her.

Alun Davies, 24, from Watford, Herts, will appear at Brighton Magistrates Court on September 20 accused of careless driving.

At the start of the inquest Brighton and Hove coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley warned Mr Pickett's brother Peter about his behaviour.

The inquest heard the couple, who lived in Rowlands Road, Worthing, and had met through their work in the motor trade, were driving home shortly after 7pm near the junction with Old Boat Corner.

Mr Pickett, 38, who was found on the back seat, is believed to have died almost instantly of multiple injuries.

Driver Ms Hampshire, 31, who also suffered multiple injuries, survived for a short time after the accident.

Mr Davies, who suffered a broken collarbone in the crash, was at the inquest. He was permitted not to give his full address.

He did not give evidence but extracts from an interview he gave to the police two months after the accident were read by a police officer.

He said he had driven alone to Brighton in a company car, which he had not driven before, to visit a friend.

He said he lost control of the car as he drove over the brow of a crest in the road as it curved to the left. As he tried to correct the vehicle his car swerved into the oncoming Peugeot.

He said: "At the time I did not feel I was going too fast and I was totally surprised at the way the car reacted to the bend."

The coroner, who recorded verdicts of accidental death, said: "There is nobody who actually saw the crash except Joshua. One has to hope he will never remember fully what happened on that night.

"In returning verdicts of accidental death I am not implying this accident was unavoidable, but that is a matter that will be explored in the criminal courts."