THE rugby club which served alcohol to a young star killed in a drink-driving crash has been criticised by a coroner for failing to look after him.

Romsey Rugby Club opened their bar specially for Macaulay Campbell and his teammates before the 20-year-old's head-on collision in February.

The inquest yesterday heard how Mac, celebrating a victory and man-of-the-match performance, had consumed "four or five pints" and texted his girlfriend to warn he was unfit to take the wheel.

Coroner Grahame Short called on the club to introduce a formal policy to discourage drink driving and said it had "some onus to look after its members".

It came as Mac's parents apologised to the crash's survivors and warned of the dangers of drink-driving.

The fatal crash on the A3057 near Romsey on February 20 sent shockwaves through Hampshire and left the communities of Romsey and Rownhams in grief.

In a statement published in full by the Daily Echo today, Mac's parents apologised to the driver and passenger who survived the crash and warned the public against drink driving.

Tracy and Colin Campbell said: “We apologise for the distress caused to the occupants in the other vehicle involved who were actually known to Mac.

“He would be mortified at the grief caused by the events of that night.

"We would hope that this sends out a very strong message to other young people about the dangers of drinking and driving."

Mac, 20, had been celebrating with teammates after Romsey beat rivals Alresford 19-3 and he was named man of the match.

Mac’s drinking began at Alresford Rugby Club’s clubhouse where he downed a pint, the inquest was told.

The celebrations continued that evening as his teammates gathered at the clubhouse of Romsey Rugby Club after asking Robert Stent, who is son of the bar manager Simon Stent, if he could open it up.

The inquest heard Mac took part in drinking games, although it was not known exactly how much he had drunk.

Mac’s girlfriend Fleur Gollogly was so concerned she contacted him on Whatsapp saying: “Are you getting smashed.”

He replied “I have had too many drinks to drive.” She offered him a lift home and tried to contact him throughout the evening when he did not reply.

It was not until 10.15pm when they spoke again, the hearing was told, and Ms Gollogly said Mac was “unsure” about whether he would head to Switch nightclub in Southampton to continue the celebrations.

Robert Stent, the bar manager's son, told the inquest that there were usually two people behind the bar at the club for home matches, but that night it was just him.

Mr Stent said: “There was excitement and happiness and we wanted to make the most of beating difficult opposition.

“While I was aware that Mac was drinking, I was not keeping tabs of what everyone was drinking.

"I do not normally keep a track of what people are drinking at the time.

“Mac did not seem inhibited at all, and he left as he arrived, happy and full of life really.”

Bar manager Simon Stent admitted at the inquest that the club had no formal policy on drink driving but said its members looked out for each other and there was a taxi number on the noticeboard.

Hampshire Chronicle:

He said no concerns about drink driving had been flagged up and no one had ever been refused a drink at the club.

Coroner Grahame Short said drink driving was the ultimate factor in the death but called on Romsey Rugby Club to introduce a policy to prevent future tragedies.

He said: “It seems to me that it is right for the club to have some onus to look after its members and discourage members from driving after drinking.

“It is something that I would recommend that the trustees look at to see whether there should be a policy in place for the staff at the club behind the bar to look at people who could be driving and encourage them not to drive.

“Sadly it is too late for Mac, but hopefully it can prevent another incident of this kind.”

Romsey Rugby Club did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

The inquest heard Mac was driving a Volkswagen Lupo on the wrong side of the road when he ploughed into a BMW 520, injuring driver Mark Penn-Newman and his wife Rosemary.

The inquest heard Mac was driving at up to 70mph as Christopher Clutterbuck said he was overtaken at “some speed” seconds before the crash.

Moments later he saw the aftermath of the crash, and went to help the driver of the BMW, and initially could not see anyone in the Lupo, which had smoke coming from the engine compartment and later exploded.

Pathologist Dr Adnan Al-Badri concluded Mac was already either dead or unconscious.

Collision investigator PC Michaela Mehigan said alcohol was the major factor in the crash which caused “colossal damage” to both vehicles.

She said it would have hindered Mac’s judgement of speed, ability to react and hindered his judgement.

A toxicology test revealed he had blood alcohol level of 172 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres in his blood, the legal limit being 80 milligrammes.

She could not explain why he was on the wrong side of the road and could not say the exact speed his vehicle was travelling at.

Police investigating officer Mark Brown added that Mr Penn-Newman was not at fault in any way and was travelling at a slower speed than Mac’s car.

Mac’s father Colin told the inquest there was a large puddle on the A3057 that day which may have caused his son to swerve, but crash investigators said there was no evidence of this.

Mac’s death saw an outpouring of grief from friends and family, reported by the Daily Echo.

Girlfriend Fleur and his brother Sam, organised a giant party at Switch nightclub in Southampton following a huge internet campaign to set up a MacFest festival.

Southampton singer Craig David, Common People organiser Rob Da Bank and Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw were among the celebrities who offered their help.

More than 1,200 people flocked to an event in April at Switch nightclub in Southampton called #Macfest, two days before what would have been his 21st birthday.

The night generated nearly £12,500, which will go towards various good causes.