TWO young cousins from Millom died after veering off a road and hitting a tree, an inquest has heard.

Dean Heasley, 24, of Settle Street, and his cousin, Aaron "Curly" Heasley, 25, of Victoria Street, were in a car on their way back from a pub with a friend when the incident happened on November 23, 2015.

An inquest held yesterday heard Aaron was driving his VW with the cousins' friend Philip Braithwaite in the back seat, lost control while attempting to overtake another car on the A5093 near Millom.

Aaron's cause of death was basilar skull fracture due to trauma and Dean's was multiple injuries due to trauma. Senior coroner, David Roberts recorded a verdict of death by road traffic collision for both cousins. 

Mr Braithwaite, who submitted evidence at the inquest, said the trio were on their way back from The Black Cock Inn in Broughton on the dark and drizzly night.

He said Aaron, who was driving between 60-70mph, pulled out to overtake a vehicle on a left-hand bend near to The Hill and he felt the car starting to lose control at the back.

"Someone started saying 'woah, woah' as if he was panicking and I don't have any recollection of the crash," Mr Braithwaite said.

His next memory was waking up in Furness General Hospital with a fractured ankle, a broken nose and whiplash.

James Tyson, who was in the car in front of Aaron's, also gave evidence at the inquest. He said the VW had "whipped out and then it was gone.

"I was thinking to myself, 'I'm going as fast as it's safe to and they're going faster - get over lads'.

"It all happened so fast. It took a moment to register what I had seen and I stepped on the brakes."

Mr Roberts, said he believed the car had hit a wet section of the road and lost traction, with the speed at which they were travelling "possibly being a contributing factor".

He said the car mounted a grassy mound and was unable to stop until its front end collided with a tree.

Collision investigator, PC Richard Weijak, said "evidence suggested the cousins had not been wearing seatbelts". Mr Roberts however, said it is "unclear" whether seatbelts would have saved their lives in this type of collision. 

Mr Weijak said the speedometer read 48mph at the time of the collision, but it had likely slowed down after veering off the road and hitting the tree.  

A toxicology report showed 45 mgs of alcohol per 100 mls of blood - the equivalent of just over half the drink-drive limit - in Aaron's system. The legal limit is 85 mgs and the coroner did not consider this level of alcohol to have had a significant impact on Aaron's driving ability.

The cousins were described as "happy-go-lucky" and "brilliant lads" who were both interested in motorbikes by their mothers at the inquest.

Mr Roberts said the cousins, Dean a father of four-year-old twin boys, and Aaron had been lifelong friends and were well-known in a "close-knit community".

He added: "You can only imagine the tragic effect this has had on their friends and family."