A doctor who died in a car crash at Pelcomb Bridge last year was more than three times the drink drive limit, an inquest has heard.

Pembrokeshire coroner Mark Layton was told that a half empty bottle of whisky was found in Rohit Bhange’s car, which he crashed and overturned on the afternoon of September 25th.

Dr Bhange, aged 32, a father-of-two, had been training to be a GP and had worked in Haverfordwest.

He drove from Swansea, telling his wife Sonali he was going to a meeting, and was then seen at a burger van on the St Davids to Haverfordwest road that afternoon.

He told Elaine Mochan, the proprietor: ‘I’m a little bit drunk’ and asked her if she had ever wanted to die.

She told the inquest: “He said ‘have you ever met a bad man? I’m a bad man’. I said ‘you don’t seem like a bad man to me.’”

Witnesses described seeing Dr Bhange overtaking dangerously and at speed on the bend leading towards the Rising Sun, forcing another car coming towards Haverfordwest to take evasive action.

Dr Bhange clipped the grass verge, losing control of the car, crossing the carriageway before hitting a tree and hedgerow.

His upper body was trapped under the car and witnesses struggled to lift it up and pull him out. He died at the scene.

Dr Christopher Hillditch said: “I noticed a car overtaking, travelling in a speed and manner that I can only describe as reckless.”

Dyfed-Powys Police collision investigator PC Ian Pathak said the primary cause of the accident was the manner of Dr Bhange’s driving and the fact he was under the influence of alcohol.

“It is fortunate that he did not come into contact with any other vehicles prior to the collision,” he added.

PC Pathak said that the car had a defect to the front suspension which would have affected its handling and Dr Bhange would have been aware of this, correcting his driving accordingly.

He was not able to say if it would have contributed to the collision.

A post-mortem found 294 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood, the legal limit is 80.

Dr Bhange had previously suffered from depression and a higher than expected level of antidepressant was found in his bloodstream but there was no evidence to suggest he intended to harm himself. Mr Layton recorded an open verdict.