126mph police chase before crash

The crash happened after the car drove the wrong way down the M4.

A police car pursuing a vehicle which crashed after being driven the wrong way down a motorway was travelling at up to 126mph, an inquest has heard.

Christopher Beresford, 18, Lee Maggs, 23, and Sam Case, 19, all from the Newport area, died after their car crashed head-on with another on the M4.

James Stafford, 69, and his wife Bridget, 70, from Surrey, who were in the other vehicle, also died.

A police officer told the Newport inquest the pursuit was "safe".

Pc Thomas Jones, who was in the police car, told the coroner's court he did not consider the pursuit dangerous until the Mondeo, which was driven by Mr Beresford, drove up the exit slip-road of the M4.

The pursuit was then immediately stood down, he said.

An in-car video of the pursuit, shown to the jury, showed the police travelling at speeds of up to 126mph.

I've been in pursuits doing 150mph and it's perfectly safe to continue Pc Thomas Jones, who was in the police car

But Pc Jones, who was in the front passenger seat, was heard telling the Gwent Police control room they were travelling at 80mph to 90mph.

He told the inquest: "I was 20mph out, I accept that. You have to understand that when I'm giving that information I'm looking at other aspects, not just speed.

"I've looked across (at the speedometer) and interpreted 80mph as 100mph, the vehicle would be constantly accelerating.

"I've been in pursuits doing 150mph and it's perfectly safe to continue. It was perfectly safe, it was not an issue."

Barrister Shaheen Rhaman, representing the Stafford family, said to Pc Jones he must have been aware of the high speed they were travelling at.

Pc Jones said: "It took two minutes to get to the Coldra, a distance of three miles. That's an average speed of 90mph."

Stinger request

He told the inquest there were six other safe routes on the Coldra roundabout where the Mondeo drove up the exit slip-road.

Until then, he said, the pursuit was "perfectly safe given the conditions and circumstances".

Referring to force guidelines on pursuits, Ms Rahman asked Pc Jones why they had not asked permission from the control room to conduct a chase.

Pc Jones said: "We were in a pursuit situation. We weren't going to pull over, call up and say 'by the way we are in a pursuit situation'. It would have been a mile up the road by then."

He said he had requested a stinger be deployed to the Coldra to try to stop the Mondeo, but that did not happen.

The inquest previously heard Mr Beresford had taken cocaine before the crash happened on the M4 near junction 24 at Newport, on September 17 last year.

James Burnett, who had also been in the Mondeo, was the only person to survive the crash.

Mr and Mrs Stafford had been travelling home to Surrey following a holiday in Ireland.

The inquest continues.