A TEENAGER died on her way to collect her A-Level results due to a fatal combination of wet weather and inexperience on the roads, an inquest heard.

Kelly Rice lost control of her car and crashed head-on into a van as she drove along the A38 at Baynhall, near Kempsey.

The 18-year-old, pictured here, was due to pick up her results from Hanley Castle High School.

The inquest heard her grey Ford Ka swerved onto the opposite side of the road and smashed into a Citroen Relay van being driven by Edward Baldwin at 9am on Thursday, August 17.

Miss Rice, of The Woodlands, Ryall, died on impact.

At today's inquest, Worcestershire coronor Victor Round said: "At the time of the collision, on a two-lane carriageway with a 60mph limit, it wasn't dry weather, it was damp and quite slippery.

"Kelly was travelling south towards Ryall, while the van was travelling in the other direction. It was at the left hand bend that she lost control of her car and crossed the carriageway.

"Mr Baldwin, who was driving the van, said he was going to work and saw this car coming towards him getting out of shape'.

"As it came towards him he recalls Kelly waving her arms very sharply - he then used the brakes, moved as far to the left as he could, and waited for the smash."

Mr Round said a police collision investigation unit examined both cars and found the braking efficiency in Miss Rice's car was slightly reduced - but it was not enough to have caused the accident.

"She didn't brake," he said. "While the van was braking so hard it left skid marks. A police report said she seemed to have lost control while going through a series of bends - possibly due to inexperience, the damp, driver error or a combination of all these.

"Tackling greasy roads in the summer is in the same category as an inexperienced driver tackling ice for the first time. I am satisfied this was an accidental death."

Miss Rice, who was due to go to University, had only passed her driving test in March. Her boyfriend Graham Healey arrived at the scene shortly after the crash, but it was too late to save her.

After the inquest, Miss Rice's grandfather Max Hill, aged 63, of Riverview Close, St John's, Worcester read out a statement.

"Kelly's mum (Vanessa Rice) would like to state that the tragic loss of her beautiful daughter was not through speeding.

"Kelly was so conscientious with her driving and everything that she ever did. Everyone who knows Kelly will know this.

"Our children do not always have the chance to experience driving in different conditions. To pass your driving test does not include having a practical exam in controlling your car if it slides on a road surface.

"This was something Kelly never experienced until that day, and tragically led to her life being so cruelly torn away from her."