Buckinghamshire death crash road 'covered in surface water'

The crash happened on the A413 in Buckinghamshire

An icy road where two drivers died in a crash was covered in water leaking from a building site in the weeks before the collision, an inquest heard.

Carl Bird, 29, and Malcolm Tindall, 64, died in a collision on the A413 in Buckinghamshire in March 2014.

The Beaconsfield Coroner's Court jury was told another car had left the same stretch of road an hour beforehand.

Several regular A413 users told the court it had been covered in surface water in the weeks before the men died.

The inquest heard calls had been made to Affinity Water about the issue, which affected the road between Wendover and Great Missenden.

The company had investigated and found the water was coming from a nearby construction site where a cottage was having work done. The cottage's owner confirmed the water was being pumped out of the property's basement after flooding.

'Cold and crisp'

In statements read out to the jury, drivers and a cyclist described seeing water flowing down from the property and collecting on the roadside even when the weather was dry.

Later investigations found the drains in the area to be blocked or nearly full, and there was a lack of nearby ditches to take on the extra water.

Other accounts read out in court described the morning of the crash, which was said to be "cold and crisp" as well as frosty.

Several drivers described encountering difficult driving conditions on the stretch of road near the care home, with one saying he saw "100yds (91m) of black ice".

Coroner Crispin Butler told the jury members that they would be looking at evidence to decide whether the men's deaths could have been prevented, and what measures were taken by police after the first crash an hour before.

The hearing continues.