CAREFREE Jason Diaper was nearly half over the drink drive limit and had been working "exceptionally" long hours in the run up to his fatal car crash.The 24-year-old carpenter, of The Pound, Hawstead, had been out drinking with friends to celebrate the opening of a new bar, Studio 3, in Station Hill, Bury St Edmunds which he had worked on its building.

By MARK BULSTRODE

mark.bulstrode@eveningstar.co.uk

CAREFREE James Diaper was nearly half over the drink drive limit and had been working "exceptionally" long hours in the run up to his fatal car crash.

The 24-year-old carpenter, of The Pound, Hawstead, had been out drinking with friends to celebrate the opening of a new bar, Studio 3, in Station Hill, Bury St Edmunds which he had worked on its construction.

At around 2.45am, on August 3, Mr Diaper had left a friend's house in Bury St Edmunds to return home to get some more alcohol to bring back and drink. He never returned and was found in his battered D-reg Volkswagen car, which had crashed as he was travelling towards Hawstead.

The inquest into his death, held in Shire Hall, Bury St Edmunds, concluded Mr Diaper would have been "instantaneously" knocked unconscious by the accident and had very little chance of survival. His car was discovered just before 4am although it is not known how long he had been there.

Suffolk Accident Rescue Service doctor Andy Mason was called to the scene and pronounced Mr Diaper dead at 4.25am.

A post mortem discovered that he had multiple injuries to the right side of his body, including a haemorrhage to the brain. A reading of 118 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood was taken. The legal limit is 80.

Speaking after the inquest, his father, William Diaper, said: "I think the drink driving was not hugely significant in this incident. I think the tiredness factor was the main cause.

"He had been working for four weeks during the day and night and had also been away at two of the weekends. He had been working long hours."

During the day Mr Diaper would work from around 9am until 5.30pm as a carpenter and then into the early hours on completing the new club.

His father added: "He loved life and we were like brothers. There was around 500 people at his funeral – he was so popular."

Coroner Peter Dean recorded a verdict of accidental death.