A POPULAR DJ was killed when he lost control of his speeding Subaru Impreza and smashed into a lamp-post, a court has heard.

A jury at Bradford Crown Court was told that Leigh Sedgwick's high-powered car, which was also carrying three passengers, was doing more than double the speed limit when it crashed in Bradford Road, Huddersfield, early on July 16, 2005.

The 28-year-old father-of-three was pronounced dead at the scene.

But his three passengers, who all refused to give statements to the police, survived the crash which happened on the approach to the Asda roundabout.

Yesterday the jury watched brief CCTV footage, taken by one of the supermarket's cameras, which showed the Subaru and a Volkswagen GTi being driven by Jason Allen seconds before the fatal crash.

Allen has gone on trial, charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Prosecutor Andrew Dallas alleged that the two friends had been racing their high-performance cars early that morning and that Allen's dangerous driving had been one of the reasons for the crash.

"Quite obviously the defendant himself could not sensibly be said to be wholly to blame for this accident," conceded Mr Dallas.

"Mr Sedgwick himself was undoubtedly driving dangerously. He was going too fast on the approach to that bend."

Analysis of the CCTV footage suggested that the average speed of Allen's VW Golf vehicle on the 40mph Bradford Road was about 71mph while the Subaru driven by Mr Sedgwick was calculated to be travelling at more than 90mph as it went out of control.

Mr Dallas told the court how witnesses had seen the cars overtaking each other prior to the tragic accident.

He added: "In our submission both drivers by reason of their speed and the competitive manner of their driving were driving dangerously.'"

Some weeks prior to the crash Allen, 27, of Central Avenue, Fartown, Huddersfield, had replaced the engine of his Golf with a more powerful one and had upgraded its braking system.

The two friends had met while out clubbing in Huddersfield early on the morning of the crash, but Allen said he had left separately, intending to go home.

He later told police that he had encountered Mr Sedgwick's Subaru by chance. He denied that he was involved in any racing.

But Mr Dallas said the jury would be invited to conclude that the two drivers had been "fooling about" and racing each other.

"Mr Sedgwick was doing the speed he was because he was intent on using his powerful car to catch up his friend who had just overtaken him in his powerful car,"suggested Mr Dallas.

"You will not hear any evidence from eye witnesses who saw the accident. We don't know of any," Mr Dallas said.

"However it is clear that both vehicles approached the Asda roundabout at considerable speed. It is equally clear that the defendant who was leading managed to negotiate this roundabout while Mr Sedgwick lost control of his Subaru on the approach to it."

Allen drove away from scene later telling police that he found out about his friend's death while at his girlfriend's home later.

He accepted having had "a bit of fun for a short period of time" but said he knew nothing about the crash happening behind him.

Allen has denied a charge of causing death by dangerous driving, but Mr Dallas told the jury: "We say that both these men were driving dangerously.

"They were competing with each other and they were driving at grossly excessive speeds.

"If you are sure, as we would urge you to be, that the defendant was driving dangerously, the next question to consider is whether his dangerous driving represented at least a cause of Mr Sedgwick's death."

The trial is expected to last about three days.