A passenger was killed after the car he was travelling in spun out of control.

Paul Greenaway, 40, of Maple Drive, Burgess Hill, died of head injuries, an inquest at Haywards Heath Town Hall heard yesterday.

Mr Greenaway was in a Lancia Prisma with his friend Lee Ackland, who was driving the vehicle.

The car was on the A273, near Haywards Heath, when it was in a collision with a Ford Transit on February 10 at about 9.45am.

The driver of the van, Richard Warner, told West Sussex Coroner Roger Stone he had been travelling from Haywards Heath to Burgess Hill when the crash took place.

Mr Warner, a self-employed fixer of domestic appliances, said: "My eye was drawn towards a speeding vehicle coming up from behind.

"Within a flash, I realised it was going sideways and there was a very loud bang.

"It was a matter of milliseconds between first seeing the car and the impact."

Mr Warner, from Burgess Hill, said he thought the car had been going at 60 or 70mph, which he considered too fast for the road's bends.

The speed limit is 60mph on the stretch of road at Isaacs Lane but there are road signs warning drivers to cut their speed to 35mph.

After the crash, workers from the emergency services worked for 40 minutes to cut Mr Greenaway from the vehicle.

He was taken to the Princess Royal Hospital at Haywards Heath but died later that day.

Mr Ackland, 37, from Burgess Hill, was present at the inquest but did not speak.

Mr Stone said the police were still investigating the matter.

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.