THE teenage son of the drummer from The Levellers may have crossed in front of a bus because he looked the wrong way following a holiday to Italy, his father told an inquest into his death.

Charlie Heather's son Alfie Harbord, who had been drinking, was involved in the crash on Brighton seafront at 12.45am on February 24.

Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley told the inquest at Brighton and Hove Coroner's Court that the 15-year-old Dorothy Stringer pupil had been on a "fun night out" with a friend.

Miss Hamilton-Deeley described how Alfie had been walking home with the friend along Marine Parade when the teenager suddenly ran across the road at a crossing, having not seen the bus approaching at the speed limit of 30mph.

Mr Heather told the inquest that his son might have become confused over the direction of the traffic following his recent holiday.

He said: "As a musician, I work abroad a lot and it's an easy mistake to make. He obviously saw there was no traffic and thought it was clear but he wasn't looking the right way."

Miss Hamilton-Deeley said that a post-mortem examination showed he died of "catastrophic head injuries", and a toxicology report showed he had 242 mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

This equates to three times the legal limit of alcohol for driving.

She said that the "high level of alcohol" would have affected his judgment.

He had been at his friend's house. The coroner said that the friend's family had been under the impression that Alfie had his parents' consent to have a single drink.

Mr Heather said: "We didn't allow or give any permission for Alfie to have alcohol."

Describing the crash, bus driver Nicholas Paul said that he had seen the two boys at the crossing, but did not think they would cross.

He said: "The first sign I got was literally in the corner of my eye and I saw some movement and in a split second I saw Alfie was in front of me and it went blank for me.

"I braked but it was too late and I saw him hit the screen."

Mr Heather, who shook Mr Paul's hand, said: "I have no animosity or blame, I am sorry it happened to you and we hope you recover from this awful experience."

PC Paul Banks, of Sussex Police, said that Mr Paul had only two seconds to react and take avoiding action, and he could not have prevented the accident.

An ambulance arrived within three minutes of the crash and Alfie, who lived with his parents in Bonchurch Road, Brighton, was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short while later.

Alfie's family released a statement describing their son as a "bright, intelligent and popular boy".

His father's band, which formed in the city in 1988, said in a statement they were "deeply saddened" by the news and it was a "great shock" for the family.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley said: "I do not imagine Alfie had any inkling of what he was going to do, I think it was high spirits and the thought of running home on such a beautiful night - but sadly he collided with the bus and I am completely satisfied Mr Paul was acting entirely responsibly."

She said the tragic situation could have happened to anybody.

“The driver could have done nothing to avoid Alfie.

“The damage was sadly done because all this happened in literally two seconds.

“Two seconds to change so many people’s lives.

“From the moment of that exuberance, he would have known absolutely nothing.”

Cause of death was given as catastrophic head injuries due to road traffic collision.

The coroner said alcohol at a level which may have affected his judgement was a contributing factor.

She concluded Alfie died in an accidental road traffic collision.

“I can only offer my inadequate sympathies at the loss of such a talented young man,” the coroner told the family.

In a statement, dad Charlie Heather and mum Jill Harbord, a teacher at Varndean College, described their son as a bright, intelligent and popular boy.

“Alfie was an outstanding classical pianist and composer with a passion for music.

“He had recently started a band with his friends in which he played the drums, and enjoyed jamming with his older brother.

“On the night of February 23, 2018, Alfie had gone to the home of one of his friends.

“Alfie was not permitted to take any alcohol with him that evening when he left home.

“We don’t know why Alfie stepped into the road when he did, but it has occurred to us that Alfie had been in Italy on a family holiday the week before and possibly he was anticipating the oncoming traffic approaching from the left, as it is in Italy, rather than the right, in which case the bus would have taken him by surprise.”

The Levellers were formed in Brighton in 1988.

Founder member Charlie Heather had Alfie with his long term partner Jill Harbord, who is a teacher at Varndean College.

The name of the band is drawn from the Levellers, a 17th-century radical democracy movement founded in England during the English Civil War.

At the time of the tragedy a statement on the band’s facebook page said: “We are deeply saddened to report that Charlie Heather’s teenage son Alfie died on Saturday.

“As you can imagine this has been a great shock to the family and to everyone who knew him.

“They have asked that their privacy be respected at this very difficult time.

“The band will be issuing an update regarding the forthcoming tour dates within the next few days.”

The drummer is the second Brighton based rock star to lose a son in recent years.

Arthur Cave, son of Nick Cave, died after falling from cliffs at Ovingdean in 2015.

An inquest heard he had taken LSD shortly before he fell and a coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.