A MAN died when he crashed his car into a tree after a drunken argument with a friend.

David Waite had drunk up to ten pints of lager when he lost control of his Fiat Stilo near the village of Lelley at 12.30am on October 5.

Self-employed plumber Mr Waite, 38, had earlier left his home in Brough following an argument with his wife Susan.

He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in Lelley Road after suffering "devastating" head injuries.

Mr Waite's friend, Alan Hayes, who he had met in The Stag's Head in Lelley, had tried to stop him leaving the pub after an argument with his friend, Dean O'Brien.

Mr Hayes told an inquest into his death: "We were laughing and joking and having lots of banter.

"Dave was being his usual daft self, but then he said something that Deano disagreed with, which got Dave's back up.

"He took it the wrong way and he just changed and got into a really argumentative mood."

After an argument between the pair, Mr Waite left the pub and got in his car, which was parked in the car park.

"I told him to go to Deano's, because he was supposed to be sleeping there, and sleep it off and he would laugh about it in the morning," said Mr Hayes.

"He was having none of it. I stood in front of the car and told him to turn the engine off and give me the keys. He seemed all right, but then he just drove off really fast."

Mr Waite's car was found crashed into a tree by Rebecca Bradshaw, a barmaid who had been serving the three men at the Stag's Head.

She said Mr Waite had consumed between eight and ten pints of Carling.

He later asked for shots of Sambuca, but she refused to serve him because "he'd had enough".

She said his car left "at speed" following the argument with Mr O'Brien.

"I remember thinking, 'I hope to God he isn't going to drive back to Brough'.

"When I drove home, I saw some headlights on a car that was stopped. I had a sinking feeling and I was praying it wasn't him."

Miss Bradshaw called the emergency services and tried to free Mr Waite from the car. A passing on-call doctor also tried to help Mr Waite, but he could not be resuscitated.

Mrs Waite told the inquest she last saw her husband on October 4. He had returned to their home in Conisborough Mews the previous day after ten days working in France.

"When he came back he was happy and smiling," she said.

"He had really enjoyed being in France and the work he did there."

Mrs Waite said the couple rowed because she thought he had been underpaid.

"We had words about it," she said.

"The last time I saw him, he was putting his tools and some clothes in his car and said he was going to leave because he was upset with me."

Mrs Waite said her husband of just two months would "occasionally" leave after an argument, but she was expecting him to return home.

The couple had sent text messages to each other after he left.

"We were cross with each other, but I was expecting him back home soon," she said.

Mrs Waite was informed of his death when police visited her home in the early hours of October 5.

Tests later revealed Mr Waite had 140mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood when he crashed. The legal drink-drive limit is 80mg.

Pathologist Dr Irving Long said it was enough to affect his "motor and cognitive functions".

Collision investigator Alfred Place said he believed Mr Waite lost control of his car after a bend.

"He was unable to maintain the position and began to drift, when he applied inappropriate or excessive corrective steering," said Mr Place.

"This caused a rapid loss of control and a heavy impact with a substantial tree, which significantly intruded into the vehicle."

Assistant deputy coroner Michael Mellun recorded a verdict of accidental death.