Car was travelling at 122mph before crashing into Wiltshire house leaving four dead

An inquest into the deaths of three young men from Calne killed in a high-speed car crash heard how passers-by battled to save them as their vehicle exploded into flames.

Matthew Parke and Corey Owen, both 19, and Ryan Nelson and Jordan Rawlings, both 20, died in the crash in the early hours of Sunday 16 August last year.

Rawlings' three-door Volkswagen Polo GTI left the A4 London Road at a bend, having made no attempt to brake, before crashing into a house and catching fire in a garden.

Despite the efforts of passers-by and emergency services, all four men died.

The three passengers had been drinking alcohol in Chippenham that night.They later got into Mr Rawlings' car to get home. A post-mortem found he was 1.4 times over the driving alcohol limit.

Following her son's inquest on Tuesday 13 July, Corey’s mother Tess Owen issued a statement describing him as her "best friend".

She said his loss has had an "immeasurable impact" on everyone who knew him, adding: "He was a fine young man making his way in life and had the world at his feet."

The family of Mathew Parke - who was known as Mattie - also released a statement saying he was a "happy, popular, confident, funny, clever and hard-working" man.

"Losing Mattie has shattered the lives of our family and left us all utterly heart-broken. We are so very sad that he got to live for just 19 years and for the years he has lost and the life he should have had," they added.

Homeowner woken up by "bomb-like" sound

A witness described the car as "bombing it" along the 30mph stretch of road with loud music playing.

Snapchat footage recorded by the young men in the vehicle at a similar time showed them laughing and singing.

Road crash investigator Stephen Spenner told Salisbury Coroner's Court the car had been recorded at speeds of up to 122mph in a 40mph zone just before it crashed, and was likely to have been travelling at around 117mph at the time of impact.

Margaret Carnegie owns the house which was hit by the car. She described being woken by a "bomb-like" sound at 3am before finding the car on its side and on fire in her garden.

Five men in a passing taxi and a lorry driver joined police officers, who arrived within eight minutes, to try to tackle the fire - but they found their extinguishers were 'no match' for the intense flames.

Taxi passenger Alexander Dean tried but failed to open one of the doors. He said he had never seen such an intense blaze.

Police eventually pulled the public away, insisting they "couldn't do anything" to help the car's occupants. The fire brigade arrived minutes later.

A postmortem found Matthew Parke and Ryan Nelson died from suffocation due to fume and hot air inhalation and Corey Owen died from a head injury.

Recording a narrative conclusion, the coroner described the crash as "horrific".

Well-wishers have raised over £9,000 for a memorial garden in Calne for Matthew Parke, Ryan Nelson and Corey Owen.

The inquest for the driver, Jordan Rawlings, is scheduled for 20 July.