A DRIVER who was on a pub crawl with friends lost control of his car as he tried to turn down the stereo while doing about 90mph as he approached a bend, a court heard.

And when engineer Darren Hudson, 23, who had drunk more than twice the legal limit of alcohol, tried to regain control, he over-corrected and crashed, killing one of his passengers.

Hudson, of Astley Close, Woodrow North, was jailed for four years and banned for five years after pleading guilty at Warwick Crown Court to causing the death of John Tomlinson by dangerous driving.

The court heard Mr Tomlinson, 31, a service engineer of Kenilworth Close, Crabbs Cross, was a popular man who was not married but had a girlfriend.

Neil Bannister, prosecuting, said Mr Tomlinson died after Hudson's Ford Escort, in which he was a rear seat passenger, crashed on the A448, The Slough, on the outskirts of Studley at about 9.45pm on a Monday evening in April.

He and a friend, John Morris, had been drinking in the Star and Garter pub when they were joined by Hudson and the three of them drank, played pool and talked to two girls before they all left and went to another pub.

They then decided to go into Studley and all five set off in Hudson's car but as they neared Studley, the car drifted onto the off-side of the road.

Hudson swerved back onto the correct side just in time to avoid a head-on crash with a Mercedes, only to over-correct and hit the near-side kerb and lose control.

The car, which experts say was doing about 87mph, went across the road and came to rest on its side in a field, with Mr Tomlinson having fatal injuries, and Mr Morris a cracked rib and broken collarbone.

When he was interviewed, Hudson admitted he had drunk five or six pints of lager and had been turning the stereo down when he realised he was on the wrong side of the road and swerved to avoid a collision, added Mr Bannister.

Stephen Thomas, defending, said: "The two aggravating features are his alcohol reading and his speed but it was an over-correction on his part after a momentary lapse.

"He's an honest, hard-working young man who has made a grave mistake. He's sorry for what he has done and he too feels the loss of a very good friend."

Jailing Hudson, Judge James Pyke told him: "There are, regrettably, features of the offence which seriously aggravate it. You were, in effect, on a pub crawl, driving your vehicle with passengers from one pub to another.

"You were driving when your blood-alcohol level was more than twice the permitted limit, and at the time you lost control, it has been calculated you were driving at an excessive speed of between 78 and 96mph in a 50mph limit.

"Mr Tomlinson, who by all accounts was an admirable young man, was a close friend of yours, and you are, I accept, a sensitive young man who has been traumatised by what happened and have needed medical attention for depression."