A top student with a “great and enjoyable future ahead of him” died after a dangerous bus was allowed on the road.

Brighton and Hove Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley said the collision in Thailand that killed Felix Cooper Robinson was “entirely avoidable”.

The 19-year-old, of Beaconsfield Villas, Brighton, was travelling with friends on his gap year when the coach driver lost control and the vehicle hit an oncoming cement truck before rolling onto its side.

Felix was killed almost instantly from severe head injuries after falling about eight feet as the bus tipped over.

Yesterday an inquest into his death heard that the tyres on the coach were “illegal”.

Sussex Police forensic investigator PC Colin O’Neill said the tread on the rear tyres was so poor it could not be measured.

Wet conditions and “excessive speed” were also blamed for the crash.

However, it is believed that neither the bus owner nor the bus driver were ever questioned by Thai police after the crash in the Rangong province, near Kra Buri.

Felix, a former Brighton College and BHASVIC student, was travelling with friend James Osler who was asleep when the bus crashed.

In a statement read out in court Mr Osler, 19, said: “The bus swerved to its side. Something hit the bus on the off-side and then we rolled over.

“I was dazed for a few seconds. I got up and went to find Felix. I climbed over a couple of seats to find him. (When I saw him) I knew he was dead.”

Felix’s parents Mark Robinson and Rachel Cooper, his brother Louis and his younger sister, travelled to the country at Christmas.

Yesterday, Mr Robinson said: “It was very important for us to be together and to experience all the joy and wonder of the places that he had been to and all the places that gave him so much happiness.”

They also gathered evidence about the crash that had not been provided by the Thai authorities.

Mrs Hamilton-Deeley recorded a narrative verdict which was welcomed by Felix’s family.

She said if the crash had happened in England or Wales criminal proceedings would probably have been launched against the bus driver and owner.

Mr Robinson said: “It is important a finding has been given that it was an avoidable accident and the finding that the main cause of the accident was the condition of the tyres which would have been deemed as illegal in Thailand.