A HAMPSHIRE police officer died at an accident blackspot despite repeated warnings to council chiefs from worried residents, an inquest heard.

James Drew, 27, of Chandler's Ford, was driving to work at Alton police station when he aquaplaned off the A31 Alresford Road and into a garden.

An inquest at Winchester Coroner's Court heard how the road's drainage system was inadequate and repeatedly flooded during heavy rain.

As reported in the Hampshire Chronicle, residents on the road, which has a 70mph limit, have been complaining to Hampshire County Council about the flooding as early as November 2005.

The PC crashed at around 6.30am but was not found for another two hours. He was rushed to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital but died of multiple injuries hours later.

David Latta, of Alresford Road, spotted PC Drew's Skoda Octavia in his back garden at around 8.30am.

He said: "The car was completely wrecked. I approached him but he couldn't talk. He moved his head and groaned. I ran back up the garden and told the wife to ring an ambulance. I told him the ambulance would be here pretty quickly and tried to reassure him.

"There have been two or three crashes before that when people have come off the road due to the flooding."

PC Michael Richards, who drove along the road at around 7am, described how he almost lost control after slowing down and driving through the five metre wide puddle at 30mph. Police experts believe PC Drew could have driven through the water between 60mph and 70mph.

Several vehicles have crashed at the same spot in the two years previous including one vehicle just six hours before the accident.

Contractors were called in May 2008 to fix the problem but were waiting for permission from landowners to install a drainage pipe.

It was fixed a month after PC Drew's death on January 22 this year.

An warning sign erected by council chiefs just five days earlier was also said to be placed too close to the flooded area to offer any benefit to drivers.

Graham Short, coroner for Central Hampshire, said: "Given the speed of the traffic on that road I find the warning sign was too close to have any benefit for drivers approaching the water.

"More importantly the gully and drainage system was inadequate to cope with the water during heavy rain. It offers little reassurance to the family to know that the problem has now apparently been solved."