An 18-year-old man remains critically ill following a head-on crash on the M4 at Newport in which five other people were killed.

The collision at 0320 BST on Monday happened minutes after police broke off pursuit of the Ford Mondeo a gand of youths were travelling in. Their car hit a retired couple have been named as James and Bridget Stafford, who were in their early 70s and originally from Achill Island, off County Mayo in the Irish Republic. They had spent the summer in Ireland and were driving to their London home after getting off the Rosslare to Fishguard ferry.

Achill priest Father Tom Kearney said: “It’s a big blow to the community. James and Bridget spent their holidays on Achill every summer and had just said their goodbyes on Sunday morning.”

Hours after the crash, it emerged that police had tried to stop the Mondeo at nearby Penhow but abandoned any pursuit when the vehicle turned onto the M4 - in the wrong direction.

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