HE drove his car off the road, killing himself and his 89-year-old mother in a tragic smash near York.

But Graham Courtney should never have been behind the wheel at all - his licence was revoked five years earlier, after he failed an eyesight test.

Mr Courtney, 57, was also suffering from diabetes, serious heart problems, and had only one leg when he crashed his silver BMW into a tree by the A64 near Bilbrough Top.

His mother, Lillian Courtney, suffered serious chest injuries and her son died of a heart attack in the crash on September 19.

An inquest held yesterday heard that Mr Courtney's sight problems had caused him to leave the A64 at the wrong junction and massively misjudge his speed.

North Yorkshire coroner Geoff Fell told the inquest at Selby's United Reformed Church: "Graham should not have been behind the wheel."

The pair, who lived together in a bungalow in Auster Bank Avenue, Tadcaster, were returning home from a shopping trip to York.

But instead of leaving the busy dual carriageway at the A659 junction, Mr Courtney veered off the road just before there, at Slice Lane.

Traffic officer PC Paul Davenport said evidence showed Mr Courtney had tried to brake and steer to avoid the tree, which he hit at between 30mph and 40mph.

Medical records showed Mr Courtney suffered from high blood pressure, and had his right leg amputated below the knee in 2004 after complications following an operation. But he had no alterations made to his car.

Officials had withdrawn his licence in early 2000 after he failed a field-of-vision test.

His insurance was also invalid because he had lied by telling the company he had a licence, the inquest heard.

Doctors were split over whether Mr Courtney suffered a heart attack before he left the road, which could have caused the accident, or during the impact of the smash.

Mr Fell said: "Graham's bad eyesight caused him to leave the A64 at the wrong junction and it was that decision that was primarily responsible for the collision that followed.

"He may well have had some heart attack sometime during the incident but I think on balance it was not that which caused him to exit from the A64 where he did."

He recorded a verdict of death by natural causes for Mr Courtney, and accidental death for his mother.

Updated: 09:26 Wednesday, May 24, 2006