A DAD driving home from an early morning work shift fell asleep at the wheel of his car and careered off the road into a tree, an inquest was told.

Graham Moore, 53, of Mersey Road, Cheltenham died from spinal and brain injuries in Frenchay hospital, Bristol on Wednesday, July 24, 2013, eight days after the accident on the A435 near Colesbourne, at 2.30pm on Tuesday, July 16.

Mr Moore’s son Aaron identified the body of his father, the Gloucestershire coroner was told.

Witness David Heap said, in a written statement: "I was driving along the road when I saw a car embedded in a wooded embankment off the road - it was facing back the way it had come.

"I stopped and approached and saw the driver still in the driving seat - he was fully conscious and seemed calm.

"He said he may have fallen asleep at the wheel."

Retired nurse Kathleen Potter said: "I had just left Cheltenham General Hospital when I saw this car off the road with the driver still in the driving seat.

"He told me that he could not feel his arms or legs and then he told me that he had just come off a 6am to 2pm shift and must have fallen asleep.

"He said he tried to hit the brakes but must have hit the accelerator instead."

Collision investigation officer PC Darren Williams said: "The Renault Megane struck a tree 50 metres from the road - he must have gone in a straight line on the right-hand bend - and rotated his car 90 degrees clockwise, hitting two trees.

"He was not wearing a seat belt because he was exempt on medical grounds."

A post mortem revealed that Mr Moore suffered spinal and brain injuries and suffered a cardiac arrest whilst in hospital.

Assistant Coroner for Gloucestershire Katy Skerrett said: "This man appears to have falled asleep at the wheel of his car after working an early morning shift and he was not wearing a seat belt because he was medically exempt.

"I conclude that this was a case of accidental death."