David Cameron’s bodyguards battled to save Ferrari driver who died when he lost control and smashed into a tree after revving engine for his girlfriend

A Ferrari driver who died when his car smashed into a tree had been showing off ‘the sound of the engine’ to his girlfriend, an inquest heard today.

Witnesses described hearing ‘revs [that] were off the chart’ in the moments before Formula One fan Ben Gladman lost control of the red Ferrari 360.

Among those who came across the badly damaged car on the narrow country track after the crash was former prime minister David Cameron, who had been at a shoot nearby.

Some of his close protection officers got out to help Mr Gladman, 31, and his girlfriend Barbara Zart but he was pronounced dead at the scene near Marlingford in Norfolk.

Ms Zart was treated in hospital for serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Norfolk coroner Yvonne Blake concluded that the businessman, who suffered multiple traumatic injuries, died as a result of a road traffic collision.

She said: ‘It had rained the day before and the verges were quite muddy.

‘The muddy verges may have contributed to the lack of grip, which might have contributed to him starting to lose control.’

Ferrari driver Ben Gladman had been revving the engine for his girlfriend when the supercar left the road and smashed into a tree

The hearing in Norwich was told that Mr Gladman, who ran a property development and lettings company with his twin brother, had bought the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale ‘as an investment’.

Ms Zart described in a statement how they had taken her partner’s husky, Dobby, for a walk on the morning of January 25 this year before going out for a coffee in Norwich.

They were driving along a narrow lane near Melton ponds fishing lake when the car left the road.

‘I remember Ben wanted to show me the sound of the engine because it was a race engine. He wanted me to hear the sound of the engine,’ she said.

‘He normally drove at about 30mph. He was driving a bit faster [than usual]. Maybe 50 or 60mph. He was smiling at me. We were both wearing our seatbelts.

‘I remember the car started to lose control. It was not staying in its lane. It started to go sideways… I do not remember hitting anything.’

The road they were on has a speed limit of 60mph.

Witness Peter Hunt, who had been fishing nearby and called 999 at 2.52pm, told the hearing: ‘I heard a very loud engine revving. It lasted no more than five seconds and then there was a loud bang.

Mr Gladman had bought the red Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, similar to the one pictured, as an ‘investment’ 

The fatal crash happened on a narrow country lane near Marlingford in Norfolk. Coroner Yvonne Blake said the muddy verges could have contributed to the car losing traction

The tree that the Ferrari crashed into before coming to a stop. Witnesses had described hearing ‘revs [that] were off the chart’ moments earlier

‘My first thought it was a motorbike. It was much louder than a car. I also thought it might have been a high-performance car. The revvs were off the chart and unbelievably loud.

‘There was a loud bang. There had been a crash. It was so silent afterwards even the birds went silent.’

Geoffrey Mayers, who was the first person on the scene, said: ‘I saw a red Ferrari in the bushes on the left-hand side. The front end of the car was pointing into the trees. The frame of the car was split.’

He looked through the passenger window and saw a woman who was breathing but not saying anything.

Mr Mayers said of the driver: ‘I felt like he was trying to say something.’

Lord Cameron had been taking part in the Great Melton shoot at nearby Marlingford Hall, which is owned by his former Eton schoolfriend Nicholas Evans-Lombe, when his convoy of two Land Rover Discoveries came across the accident.

One car – believed to contain the Tory peer – sped off, Mr Mayers said previously, while the other remained behind.

PC Alan Gould, who was in one of the unmarked Discoveries, said in a statement: ‘[We were] driving behind a tractor pulling a trailer. I could see in front of the tractor a man standing in the road by a red Ferrari.

Protection officers who were with Lord Cameron stopped to help Mr Gladman and his partner but they were unable to save the businessman

‘I asked PC [David] Hughes to contact an ambulance. I ran towards the vehicle and could see it had been distorted.

‘As I approached, I could smell a very strong odour of petrol…and shouted back to the police vehicle for a fire extinguisher.’

PC Gould said the female occupant of the car ‘replied only in a murmur’ when he spoke to her, while the man ‘looked as though his seat had been pushed towards the centre of the car’.

Another police officer administered first aid before paramedics arrived and pronounced Mr Gladman dead at the scene.

Ms Zart was airlifted to hospital for treatment.

A forensic collision report found that there were no mechanical defects to the car.

It stated: ‘Ben lost control of the Ferrari beyond the right hand bend. The vehicle may have started to oversteer which Ben possibly attempted to correct and lost control of the vehicle.’

Mr Gladman, who lived near the crash scene, had no alcohol in his system, according to a toxicology report.

Geoffrey Mayers, who was the first person on the scene, said: ‘I saw a red Ferrari in the bushes on the left-hand side. The front end of the car was pointing into the trees. The frame of the car was split.’

His mother, Dr Hilary Sporton, told the inquest how her son had sent a drawing to Ferrari when he was five-years-old and ‘received a personal reply’ from a designer, and they had become friends.

She added: ‘I saw Ben the day before he died. He was in good spirits. He told me he was spending the weekend in Norwich.

‘He had a gift for making people smile. He was effortlessly charming and endlessly funny.

‘We miss Ben more than words can ever say. The world feels empty without him.’

Announcing her conclusion, Ms Blake said: ‘We do not know exactly why Ben left the road. We can hypothesise the roads were muddy which meant he started to lose traction.

‘We know Ben lost control of the car and ended up colliding with a tree.’

Addressing Dr Sporton and other family who were in the room, she added: ‘I’m very sorry about you losing your son in this horrendous way. He sounds absolutely lovely.’