A young police officer died when he crashed his friend’s car into a tree after driving off ‘in an aggressive manner’.

PC Liam Horley, 21, lost control of the £30,000 car as he took a corner in wet conditions along with fellow officer Oliver Wapshott, who owned it, in the passenger seat.

An inquest heard he died immediately from multiple injuries, while PC Wapshott suffered serious injuries and cannot remember what happened.

A witness said they saw the red Peugeot 308 GTI ‘take off as if they were doing a zero to 60 time trial’ before the crash on August 6 last year.

PC Wapshott told the hearing: ‘It was not the plan to drive recklessly. He was thinking of getting a new car and wanted to try something that had a little bit more power than his.

‘We both knew it had been raining.’

Winchester Coroner’s Court heard the two officers met during their training for Surrey Police.

They had met up for lunch in Guildford before the crash, where they each had a beer.

PC Wapshott told the inquest he remembers his friend telling him specifically to go to Claycard Road, a military road in Aldershot.

This road has no speed limit signage, however the next road, Bourley Road, has a 40mph limit.

PC David Hannan, a Thames Valley police collision investigator, told the hearing he had calculated that Mr Horley had likely been driving at 55mph before the tragic incident.

He said: ‘The loss of control is due to excess speed as it reached that bend.

‘He was choosing to drive in an aggressive manner and was unable to regain control.’

The GTI has a 1.6 litre turbocharged engine and can reach 60mph in 5.8 secs

The death of PC Horley, of Farnborough, has left a ‘huge void’, his family said.

In a statement, they said: ‘To say we were so proud is an understatement, and [being in the police] was clearly a role that he took to immediately.

‘He was the kind of person that would do whatever he could to help.

‘He saved a family members life by performing CPR on them for twelve minutes before the ambulance arrived, his quick actions saved a life that day, but he was too modest to take the credit.

‘He leaves a huge void in all our lives and words will never convey the pain, sadness and utter devastation that we are left with.’

Assistant coroner Sarah Whitby concluded: ‘He was driving a friend’s car along the road.

‘He was driving, more likely than not, above the appropriate speed limit for the road conditions.

‘But it is unclear whether it was over a speed limit for this military road.

‘For no reason save the speed, he collided with a tree. He died immediately from multiple injuries.’

Surrey Police released a statement paying tribute to PC Horley, which read: ‘Liam had a quiet confidence with a positive outlook and willingness to just have a go.

‘He was always the first to volunteer for tasks or demonstrations which enabled both himself and his colleagues to develop. He never complained and just got on with the job in hand.’

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