The car crashed along the promenade in Rhyl

Robert Hill was not wearing a seatbelt when his Mercedes sports car failed to negotiate a bend along Rhyl's seafront.

The Prestatyn inquest heard he was being followed by a police car at the time of the crash last October.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded on the 24-year-old.

'Not chased'

He had crashed into a pillar at Splash Point, Rhyl in the early hours of a Sunday morning in October 2004 when his Mercedes convertible failed to take the sharp bend.

His father had described his son as "bubbly, happy and fit" and said he had been an entrepeneur since his schooldays.

The inquest on Monday heard that at one point Mr Hill had been driving along the promenade at 102mph, but when he crashed he had braked to 31mph.

The coroner was told that Mr Hill had been followed, but not chased, by a Ford Focus in which there was a police officer and a special constable.

Mr Hill's father and two brothers walked out of the inquest while a police officer was giving evidence, explaining they did not want to see the policeman. They returned once the evidence had been given.