A WARNING against "morning after" drink-driving was issued by a coroner after two teenagers were killed in an horrific head-on smash.

An inquest at York Coroner's Court heard 18-year-old Benjamin Robert Landers was one-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit when the car he was driving ploughed into a street cleaning tanker on York's outer ring road.

City coroner Donald Coverdale described as "alarming" the fact the accident happened at 8.30am, and Mr Landers and his passenger, 17-year-old James Martin Shackleton, had been out drinking the night before.

The hearing, at New Earswick Folk Hall, heard the two were in a red Peugeot 106, which became wedged under the wheels of the street cleaner.

The accident happened after the Peugeot left its carriageway on the A1237, between the Wigginton Road and Haxby roundabout, at 8.30am, on April 16 last year, and the front half of the car ended up under the wheels of the lorry.

The driver of the street cleaner, Alan Majin, of The Chase, Malton, sustained minor injuries.

Giving evidence in court, Mr Majin apologised to Mr Landers' parents, but was too distressed to speak to the Evening Press.

Mr Majin said: "I got no warning. I only got a glimpse of something coming out from the right-hand side of me, and in a second it was wedged under me."

Debris from the crash was scattered over the carriageway, and the road between the two roundabouts was closed for several hours, causing traffic to build up on nearby roads as drivers sought alternative routes.

After the collision, the street cleaner, which had a long pipe down one side, came to rest partially across the centre of the carriageway, facing towards Clifton Moor.

The Peugeot was facing the other way and partially underneath the lorry.

Road conditions were normal at the time of the crash.

Traffic Constable David Taylor, who attended the scene and gave evidence in court, said tests showed Mr Landers had 170mg of alcohol in 100ml of urine, and Mr Shackleton had 89mg.

The legal limit is 107mg in 100 ml of urine.

Summing up, Mr Coverdale said it was believed they were returning home to Whitby from a night out in York.

He said: "What is rather alarming is that this incident occurred at 8.30 in the morning, and it would seem these two young men had been out together the previous night and drunk alcohol.

"The fact remains, the driver had had one-and-a-half times the legal limit, and it is still not widely appreciated that if you consume a large quantity of alcohol at night, the level in your body can still far exceed the permitted level the following morning."

A verdict of accidental death was recorded on both Mr Landers, from Field Close, Whitby, and Mr Shackleton, of Love Lane, Whitby.

Updated: 09:03 Saturday, February 18, 2006