A PROMISING soldier was killed instantly when his car smashed into a speed camera, an inquest heard.

Witnesses said that a red Volkswagen Golf driven by 24-year-old Tony Emery, a soldier in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was travelling “almost bumper to bumper” behind a black BMW on the A666 towards Bolton prior to the fatal crash on January 6 this year.

Onlookers said both cars were travelling at speeds well in excess of the road's 50mph limit at the time.

Mr Emery is thought to have lost control of his car as it swerved into a speed camera, causing him “multiple, unsurvivable injuries” and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The court heard conflicting accounts of the moments before the smash, with Mr Emery’s passenger and girlfriend at the time, Paige Palmer, who was seriously injured in the incident, accusing the BMW’s driver, Luke Stone, of frequently speeding up and braking in front of their car.

Mr Stone denied this and said he "flashed" Mr Emery, indicating for him to allow him to pass in the outside lane — which he said provoked an angry reaction from the soldier who then drove closely behind him in a manner which he found intimidating.

At the Bolton hearing it was revealed that Mr Stone was taking the BMW car for a test drive at the time and following the crash, he drove back to the Williams dealership in Raikes Lane.

He was then joined on a second test drive by salesman Richard Woodruff, who said that Mr Stone was “visibly shaken” when driving past the scene of the crash.

One witness, David Snodgrass, who was driving on the A666 towards Bolton, had just passed the Kearsley roundabout when he saw the two cars.

He said: “I was in the inside lane and looked in my mirror and saw two cars driving really fast in the outside lane.

"It was unbelievable — they were driving like nutters and were more or less bumper-to-bumper.”

Witness Shirley Marsh said: “It was my impression that they were racing.”

Mr Stone was twice interviewed under caution but the Crown Prosecution Service has since concluded that there would be no realistic prospect of a conviction and that no other action is being taken.

Mr Emery’s mother, Deborah Emery, who said: “Tony was a good person and loved his family, he was dedicated to his girlfriend and her little boy, he looked after them.”

The 24-year-old who had lived in both Great Lever and Westhoughton was in-line for a promotion to the rank of Lance Corporal.

Speaking on behalf of his commanding officer, Colonel Mike Glover told the court: “He was highly regarded and he was going places — this was a very sad loss to his regimental family as well as his family.”

Recording a verdict of death by road traffic collision, area coroner Alan Walsh said: “For him to have died at 24-years-old is quite unimaginable and difficult to comprehend.”