A DRIVER from Steeple Ashton who died in a triple death road crash in March was on the wrong side of the road, an inquest has heard.

John Selway, 33, died in the Royal United Hospital, Bath after the accident, which happened on the A361 between Caen Hill, Devizes and Seend Fork.

Mr Selway's Vauxhall Vectra collided head on with a Vauxhall Astra travelling in the opposite direction, also killing Potterne couple Graham and Nicola Smith.

The families of Mr and Mrs Smith have hit out at the verdict of accidental death recorded on all three victims by coroner Richard van Oppen in Salisbury on Thursday.

Mrs Smith's father, John Fell, said: "At the point of impact Nicola and Graham were on the correct side of the road and the other driver was on their side and crashed head on into them.

"We don't see how if anybody is killed while going about their lawful business as Graham and Nicola were, it can be deemed to be an accident.

"We had expected verdicts of death by dangerous driving and we were disappointed at the outcome."

The inquest heard that the two cars hit with enough force to push the Astra backwards through a hedge into a field.

Mr and Mrs Smith were pronounced dead at the scene and their 13-year-old son, Sam, a backseat passenger, suffered serious injuries.

Mr van Oppen told the inquest that although post-accident investigations had made it clear Mr Selway's car was on the wrong side of the road, it was impossible to know why.

Mr Selway's wife of eight years, Claire, told the inquest in a statement that her husband was a careful driver who drove extensively as a part of his job.

She said on the night of the crash, her husband had phoned home to say he was just leaving work and, when he didn't arrive, she went looking for him and came across the accident site.

A statement from another driver, who was the first to arrive at the scene, said the Vectra had passed him on the Caen Hill dual carriageway shortly before the crash, travelling at speeds of up to 90mph.

A statement from police collision investigator PC Steve Colwill said that the Smith family's car had been travelling at about 51mph at the time of impact and Mr Selway's car was travelling at between 57mph and 67mph on a road with a 60mph speed limit.

Mr and Mrs Smith were a devoted couple who met as teenagers and had been married for 30 years. They both worked at Cross engineering in Devizes and also had a daughter, Lucy, now aged 11.

Mr Selway, who worked for Ringway Parkman near Devizes, had a three-year-old daughter, Bethany.