Businessman George Errington had his life support machine switched off 100 days after suffering horrific injuries in a fireball car crash, an inquest was told.

The 53-year-old insurance agent, of Sydenham Road, Chinnor, suffered multiple injuries and severe burns to both legs in the crash when his BMW collided with a tanker on a Cotswolds country lane on November 29 last year. His wife, Jane, and two daughters agreed to turn off the life support system after a number of brain scans at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury.

Cotswold coroner Lester Maddrell was told yesterday that Mr Errington's car caught fire after it came round a blind corner at the top of a hill on the narrow road and collided with a lorry.

The lorry driver tried to fight the blaze with a fire extinguisher but was unable to get to Mr Errington. Mrs Errington told the inquest she believed it was the first time her husband, who had been shooting with friends that day, had used the road.

Mr Maddrell recorded a verdict of accidental death.