John Walkley suffered severe burns attempting to free his daughter Victoria after the TVR sports car ran into a ditch near Cubbington in January.

But he could not reach the "fun-loving, sociable" girl, and she died before help arrived.

Mr Walkley called an ambulance but later fell into unconsciousness for nine weeks and is still receiving medical treatment for his burns.

He, Victoria's mother Christine Walkley and her godfather Andy Bye attended an inquest at Leamington town hall on Thursday, at which Warwickshire and Coventry coroner Sean McGovern recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Reading from statements, Mr McGovern described how Mr Walkley had picked up his daughter from Leamington on January 27 in 'Trevor', his classic TVR Vixen.

In a statement given in June, Mr Walkley, 49, of Spring Court, described how he had lost his memory and could only remember brief moments of the accident.

Police found no faults with the car, but said the edge of the road was uneven due to vehicles running wide. A specialist accident investigator said that once the sports car was on the poor surface the driver would have no control.

Witness Samuel Whale, a training manager at the British Horse Society, described how he found Mr Walkley beside his burning car.

Although he had burns to his clothes, arms, hands and face, the distraught father kept trying to save his daughter.

In a statement, his wife Christine told how her husband called her from a passer-by's mobile phone to tell her of the accident.

She also described her daughter, a sixth former at King's High School in Warwick, as a "pleasant, sociable, easy-going" girl, who always stuck up for the underdog and offered her support to others when they were going through difficult times.

Mr McGovern told the family. "You have lost your daughter in tragic circumstances.

"I am a father myself. I don't pretend I understand your grief but I think I can imagine your feelings. I offer my condolences to you."

Victoria's godfather Andy Bye spoke for her parents after the hearing.
He said: "Victoria was such a lovely girl. She was fun-loving and a fantastic daughter.

"It is a great loss for Christine and John. Family and friends are starting to come to terms with what happened.

"The good thing is, we have strong memories of Victoria which are keeping us going."