THE father of Joel Corner told today how his son had apparently driven his Audi car before last year's horrific accident - without him having any idea what Joel was up to.

Lee Corner said he only discovered the truth after Joel died, when it emerged that some other people in the local community had apparently seen him at the wheel, but said nothing to his parents.

"If I had only known about it, I would have grounded him indefinitely and all this would never have happened," he said.

Lee said he wanted to urge people across York to keep their eyes open for underage teenagers driving cars illegally - and let their parents know if they spotted it happening.

He also spoke of how Joel had been a very caring son who had given so much.

"Even the police explained to us that during the investigation, they had calls of support to say Joel acted out of character and were shocked as to what he had done," he said.

His comments came after last month's inquest into the deaths of Joel, his friend and front-seat passenger, Daniel Wright, and van driver, Peter Alexander, heard that Joel had told friends he had driven his father's Audi previously.

One friend said he claimed to have driven it once, while another said he had taken it twice.

One of the friends said Joel had become obsessed with the Audi.

Lee, who lives off Stockton Lane, York, said he had known that Joel loved the car. "He would often wash it, and would sit in the driver's seat to clean the interior, but I had no idea he was going to drive it. It never occurred to me."

He said he understood that some individuals in the local community had seen Joel drive in the car, but failed to tell him.

"I would say this to people: if you know that someone is driving a car when they shouldn't, please let the parents know.

"Because sometimes you can never be sure what your child is doing as you can't keep your eyes on them 24/7.

"I'm not trying to blame anyone, as Joel was the one who took the car, but there seems to be a lack of community and that needs to be addressed and we hope a lesson can be gained by this.

"They don't have to tell them face-to-face.

"They could drop them a note or tell the police. It could save their lives and any innocent victims."

Lee is backing our Live Now, Drive Later campaign, which aims to prevent another such tragedy through the production of a video to be shown in schools across the York area warning of the dangers.