TEENAGER John Smith had already stolen and crashed one vehicle before being killed in a second stolen car, an inquest has heard.

Smith, of Clare Road, Malvern, died after the roof of the Ford Escort he was driving sheared underneath the side of an oncoming tipper lorry in Hampton, Evesham, on the A44 Worcester to Evesham Road on Saturday September 1, 2001.

A police vehicle was following the car at the time of the crash.

After hearing three days of evidence yesterday, the jury decided on a verdict of accidental death.

Another boy - named for legal reasons as "K"- who was a passenger in the stolen Escort, survived the carnage because the driver's side bore the brunt of the collision.

Although "K" said in a statement that he believed they had been chased by the police, the jury indicated they were satisfied the police were simply following the vehicle.

Their decision came after evidence from accident investigator PC David Holland.

"John Smith and 'K' went missing from a children's home in Evesham before this incident," said PC Holland.

"They stole a pick-up truck on the evening they went missing, before it was eventually crashed and abandoned. They stole another car during the night."

PC Holland said the stolen car - the Ford Escort - was seen on Saturday morning by Sgt Mark Underhill in his patrol car near Pershore.

Realising they had been spotted, the boys drove off through a red light towards Evesham, and collided with a jeep in Cropthorne, before the fatal lorry collision in Hampton.

Sgt Underhill followed the boys at what he deemed to be a safe distance to monitor their car.

"It is clear from 'K' that John Smith made the decision not to stop before the incident," he said.

"A good distance was maintained behind the stolen vehicle."

Shortly before the incident Sgt Underhill was 90 metres away, the closest he had been to the car.

He said at this point he did not want to lose visual contact with the car as it went around a bend and on towards Evesham's Abbey Road/ Cheltenham Road crossroads.

The boys' journey had started on the A449 in Malvern, heading to Worcester. They had already forced one driver into a roundabout before being seen by police, and then they took the A44 towards Evesham.

The jury decided their verdict after less than an hour of deliberations.