A PETER Symonds College student celebrating the end of his A-levels was killed in a quad bike accident in Greece, an inquest heard.

Sam Chisholm, 18, died from head injuries after the accident in Rhodes.

A popular teenager and member of Chandler’s Ford-based Centre Stage Productions Youth Theatre, Sam was holidaying with two friends in June 2008.

With fellow students from Peter Symonds, Richard Aves and Ollie Ledsham, they wanted to sightsee, the inquest was told.

Mr Aves, of Boyatt Wood, told the inquest there were no buses, taxis were expensive, and none of them had held a driving licence long enough to rent a car.

So they hired a pair of 250cc quad bikes for 70 Euros, the same as the return cab fare.

Mr Aves said he rode one with Mr Ledsham riding pillion, and Mr Chisholm took the other.

He added that he was the only one that had ridden a quad bike before.

However, they tested them for a few minutes before setting off, with Mr Chisholm leading the way.

Within a few minutes, said Mr Aves, he saw the other bike veer off the road into bushes.

They found Mr Chisholm with blood on his face. The helmet Mr Chisholm was wearing was “smashed to bits”, possibly after colliding with a concrete lamppost in the bush.

The teenager was taken away by ambulance, but pronounced dead later that day. Greek police then interviewed his friends, who were 19 at the time.

Mr Ledsham, of North End, Cheriton, near Alresford, said they told Greek police officers that none of them had taken drink or drugs, and they were not racing. Police did not breathalyse or prosecute them, he added.

Mr Ledsham is the son of choirmaster Ian Ledsham, who was killed in a head-on car crash with a drink-driver on the A31 near Ropley, in September 2005.

Mr Aves added: “Sam was his usual self on the day — all lively and ready to go. He was always fun and lively.”

Sam had been a pupil at Eastleigh’s Quilley School of Engineering.

He gained 10 GCSEs and three A-levels.

He had taken a year out of further education and had been working as an engineer at Frutina, a Southampton drinks manufacturer.

Deputy central Hampshire coroner, Simon Burge, said he would have liked to call the police as witnesses, but his powers did not extend abroad.

He added that a lack of cooperation from the Greek authorities in providing more details led to the delay in resuming the inquest, following the death on June 5, 2008.

Mr Burge recorded a verdict of accidental death on Mr Chisholm, of Twyford Avenue, Eastleigh.