Ewan Clover, who died after being hit by at least three vehicles - including a police car and an ambulance - on the A14, may have been trying to take a shortcut home, an inquest heard.

Mr Clover, aged 19, may have been trying to cross the dual carriageway to return home after a night at a friend's.

The inquest in Ipswich heard he had gone on foot from his home in Rougham, near Bury St Edmunds, to visit his friend Will Tinsley, who lived on the other side of the A14.

In a police report read to the hearing, Will said the pair drank and took recreational drugs.

When he woke up at 10am the next day, Ewan had gone.

Will told police it "wasn't unusual for Ewan to jump the crash barriers and go across the A14 if he was in a hurry instead of using the bridge", the report said.

A post-mortem examination recorded that Ewan died of severe head injuries after being hit by vehicles at around 4.35am on October 14 last year.

Ewan's mother Naomi helped identify his body from photographs of tattoos of a dagger, rose and skull on his right leg.

Jessica Pettitt, who was driving an Audi A3, described how she "suddenly saw on the limit of her dipped beam headlights an object in the carriageway".

She said she realised it was a body, braked and swerved but could not avoid it.

Ms Pettit's brother Dan Pettitt, who was a passenger, described hearing an "almighty bang".

A police car driving behind the Audi and which was taking a suspected drink-driver to custody, also hit the body.

One of the officers from the car tried to use a torch to warn other drivers but an ambulance taking a care home resident to hospital also hit Ewan.

Forensic collision investigator Richard Godden, reading from a police report, said there was nothing any of the drivers could have done.

"In my opinion the most likely cause of this collision is Mr Clover's decision to cross the A14 rather than use the longer but safer option of the bridge," he said.

He said graphic technician Ewan "collapsed or fell" in the carriageway.

Toxicology tests found ecstasy in his system and he was over the drink-drive alcohol limit, with 104 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

The legal limit is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

Suffolk's senior coroner Nigel Parsley said Ewan died after being struck by "at least three vehicles".

He said that when the Audi struck Ewan, "he was already lying in the carriageway - it's therefore not known if Ewan suffered a collapse causing him to be laid down or whether he was struck by an unidentified driver who has not made themselves available to police".

Mr Parsley said there was no evidence Ewan intended for it to happen and concluded he died as a result of a road traffic collision.