Scott Madden, 30, and Peter Batty, 41, died after a Seat Ibiza turned into the path of a Honda Civic on the A59 at Whixley on December 16 last year.

Two people in the Honda were injured.

The Harrogate inquest heard how Mr Madden, of The Crescent, Garforth, who was driving, was more than two and a half times the drink-drive limit. His passenger Mr Batty, of Westway, Garforth, was more than four times the drink-drive limit and had also taken cocaine.

The inquest heard how the pair had been out all day. The crash happened at 8.30pm, just minutes after they had left a restaurant in Cattal where a member of staff Patricia Grant had called police about Mr Madden's driving.

She had seen the car partly on a footpath and partly on a grass verge as it left.

And earlier two motorists following the Seat between Kirk Deighton and Cattal had stopped to let it get ahead of them because of their concern at the way it was being driven.

One, Colin Lee, said the car had been weaving about the road, crossing onto the wrong side and once going onto a pavement. He thought the driver was drunk.

The inquest heard Mr Madden's partner Carla Yeoman had warned him in the morning against taking her car as he was not insured to drive it.

George Hope who with his son Jonathan had spent three weeks in hospital after the crash said he was travelling about 40-50pmh towards York when the Seat swerved towards him on his side of the road giving the impression "it was flying."

After his Honda was struck a Mercedes car and a coach had also been involved in the collision.

Scott's mother Carole told the inquest the evidence she had heard did not "add up." She said she could not see her son driving as outlined. "I can't see him doing any of it actually, it was totally out of character."

Coroner Geoff Fell returned narrative verdicts yesterday.

He said of Mr Madden: "I am sure he had no idea of the grief he was about to cause to his nearest and dearest and those of his friend, not to mention to complete strangers."