A driver in a head-on crash in which he and two others died had been on an all-day drinking session.

Andrew Coupland, 27, was more than three times over the legal drink-drive limit when his BMW ploughed into 60-year-old Malcolm Cleroux's Vauxhall Corsa, killing them both.

Joseph Nixey, 19, who was a passenger in Mr Coupland's car, also died in the crash on Easter Sunday.

An inquest at Haywards Heath yesterday heard Mr Coupland, of Great Rough, Newick, had spent all afternoon drinking with his three passengers at a string of pubs.

Dominic Cheshire, from Newick, a primary school friend of Mr Nixey, was in the back of the BMW when it crashed on the A272 at Scaynes Hill, near Haywards Heath, at 8pm.

He and fellow back seat passenger Phillip Steer, from Tunbridge Wells, were both seriously injured in the smash.

He said: "We all shouted. I saw the headlights of the other car and then we crashed." Mr Cheshire said: "Andrew was driving like an idiot -- too fast, spinning wheels and straightening out corners.

"I thought he was showing off. I was worried for my safety."

He said they went to The Plough in Plumpton, The Farmers in Scaynes Hill and the King's Head in Chailey, all of them drinking in every pub.

He added: "Andrew was quite a loud person from the start. He didn't seem as drunk as the rest of us."

Witness Katja Bates was walking with her young daughter on the A272 to feed her horse near her home in Scaynes Hill when the BMW passed her.

She said: "I heard a roar and I knew from the sound it was a car coming fast so I pushed my daughter on to the verge. Within seconds a car came past at a terrible speed, almost knocking an elderly man off his stick.

"It must have been going at 100mph. It was very, very fast and travelling in the middle of the road."

Two other witnesses, David Sawney and Carmine Magliocchi, who were overtaken by the BMW just before the accident, said they saw the back of the car swaying and drifting into the middle of the road.

Police later confirmed at least one tyre was under-inflated and could have caused this, contributing to the accident.

Byung Ho Kim, from London, was driving behind the Corsa, whose driving he described as "very accurate and precise" when the accident happened.

He said: "The Corsa driver did not have a chance to react because his brake lights did not come on.

"The impact was so heavy the car was pushed backwards."

Sergeant Laurence Culver, of Haywards Heath police, said the collision was "entirely avoidable".

He said: "The actions of the BMW driver, coupled with the alcohol and the state of the tyres, were a recipe for disaster.

"This was a nasty accident but unfortunately we see this sort of thing all too often."

Coroner Roger Stone recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on Mr Nixey, of Woodcutters, Scaynes Hill, and Corsa driver Mr Cleroux, of Browns Lane, Uckfield.

Mr Stone said: "It is clear that Mr Coupland was intoxicated and his driving was erratic, dangerous and too fast, according to several witnesses.

"He failed in his duty of care to his passengers, to other road users and pedestrians."

Although none was wearing a seatbelt it was clear that if they had it would not have saved their lives.

Mr Stone recorded a narrative verdict in the death of Mr Coupland. He said: "He sustained fatal injuries driving his BMW at high speed while severely intoxicated when control was lost of the car and it crashed into another car on the carriageway.

"If the car had not been driven like that those people would not have died."

Mr Nixey's mother, Lorraine Jaquest, of Orchard Close, Haywards Heath, was too upset to comment after the inquest but said previously: "Joseph brought a smile to everybody's face. He was very popular and he was just starting to get his life on track."

Mr Cleroux's widow, Jenny, said: "He was selfless. He did so much for the community, visiting mentally-ill patients and playing the organ at Isfield for 30 years.

"He also did volunteer work in London where he spent a lot of time."