The distraught mother of a Selby teenager who was unlawfully killed revealed today she had not been able to afford a headstone for her daughter more than a year after her death.

Clare Smith, of Westbourne Terrace, Selby, died in a car crash last September, only weeks before her 18th birthday.

At a resumed inquest on Clare, coroner Jeremy Cave recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.

He said Clare died instantly from severe head injuries.

The driver of the car, Lee Randell, of Camblesforth, was jailed ealier this year for two years for causing her death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs.

Clare's mother, Ann, 47, said today: "The verdict was what I expected, but it still doesn't make it any easier. It's a never-ending nightmare."

Mrs Smith said she had still not been able to pay the £1,600 funeral expenses or pay for a headstone to mark her daughter's grave in Selby Cemetery.

She said: "I have put in a claim for compensation for Clare's death through Mr Randell's car insurance, but I'm still waiting.

"Apparently there are problems because Clare had taken an Ecstasy tablet before the crash, but she was in the back seat fast asleep and didn't know anything about it."

Mrs Smith said they had marked Clare's grave with vases of silk flowers. They had also placed a brass memorial plaque at the crash scene on the first anniversary of her death.

She was found lying face down at the side of the road after the Vauxhall Nova car in which she was a rear seat passenger crashed into a railway crossing barrier at Womersley.

In a separate court case, James Roddy, 44, of Selby, was jailed for 30 months for selling Clare ten Ecstasy tablets.

Mrs Smith said: "Clare was my youngest child. She was my baby and she's there all the time.

"My living room is full of photographs of her. I cope the best I can, but there are mornings when I get up and wonder if it's worth living.

"We're even giving up our caravan at the seaside. Clare loved going there, and it holds too many memories."

Mrs Smith said her big family - she has four children and four stepchildren as well as 11 grandchildren - had helped each other get through the heartache.

Her husband, Eric, had been a wonderful stepfather to Clare since she was two years old.

She said: "We've been to hell and back. Her death is a life sentence and I'll never get over it."