A KIDDERMINSTER man died after a night out turned to horror when a drunken prank went tragically wrong.

Steven Ryan suffered a fatal head injury when he slid off the the bonnet of a friend's car after jumping onto the vehicle as he made his way home.

An inquest into the 36-year-old's death heard Mr Ryan had been drinking with friends in the Old Peacock pub in Kidderminster on February 11.

Worcestershire senior coroner David Reid read statements from friends who gave evidence that Mr Ryan drank lager and Jagerbombs before leaving the pub in good spirits at around midnight.

One of his friends, barman Dacrry Clist, drove two other members of the group home before making his way back towards Stourbridge Road where Mr Ryan was with two other friends.

In his statement, Mr Clist said: "I slowed to 10 to 15 mph, Steven bolted towards the car and almost dived onto the bonnet, I braked hard, Steven slid off and hit his head on the road."

The hearing had previously been told Mr Ryan, from Dunnington Avenue, had earlier in the evening tried to climb in through the window of the car as he joked around in high spirits.

Witness Kerry Smith said in a statement: "I noticed two males messing about outside Costcutter, not aggressive just pratting around."

She added she looked away then heard two bangs and looked back to see Mr Ryan lying in the road.

She said: "I saw the driver distressed saying 'you shouldn't have jumped out'."

Crash investigator PC Nik Stafford confirmed the Mini driven by Mr Clist was travelling well within the speed limit, had no significant mechanical defects and although it was a frosty evening there was no ice on the road.

He added there was no major damage to the car, a hand print found in dirt on the bonnet was from Mr Ryan and the driver had "little or no time to react".

The coroner found Mr Ryan, who was declared dead at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital on February 12, suffered a catastrophic head injury when he was thrown from the bonnet.

He concluded Mr Ryan died as a result of an accident.

Mr Ryan's mother Pamela Thompson said of her son, who worked as a roofer: "He had a lovely smile, a cheeky grin. Our lives will never be the same without Steven, our hearts are broken.

"He will never grow old, he had everything to live for."