An inquest into the death of a 17-year-old boy killed in a crash in the early hours of New Year's Day has heard he walked off on his own after a row with his mother.

Rochester schoolboy Augustine Carnell died when he was hit by a white Skoda Rapid on the A229 Blue Bell Hill at 3.30am on January 1.

The court heard the King's School A-level student had been seeing in the New Year at a party in Maidstone with his family.

Augustine had been drinking and - after being sick - started to walk home, the inquest heard.

His mother followed him out of the house and, the hearing was told, they walked for some time before becoming disorientated and lost.

A coroner heard that after an argument with his mother, Augustine walked off on his own.

He was later seen on the A229 and several witnesses described seeing him walking and looking drunk.

It is thought he crossed the carriageway several times as witnesses reported seeing him on both the Maidstone-bound and Chatham-bound sides of the dual-carriageway.

A taxi driver reported seeing Augustine lying down in the road and he shouted at him to get up.

Augustine, a pupil at King's Rochester from the age of four, was lying in the road on the Maidstone-bound carriageway when he was hit.

Coroner Patricia Harding recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Augustine's family has previously paid tribute to "a kind, gentle, happy 17-year-old boy full of fun and humour".

He was a keen rugby player, playing at King's and for Aylesford Bulls. He was also a CCF Air Cadet and Explorer Scout with Shorne Scout Troop.

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