Driver killed and six injured after pupils throw stones at cars on busy dual carriageway

A motorist was killed and six people injured in a pile up believed to have been caused by three young children throwing stones at traffic on a dual carriageway.

John Wells, 28, died after his car was hit by another vehicle in a crash that police have described as 'absolute carnage'.

Three children - two boys and a girl - aged between 12 and 14 have been questioned by police over the incident which happened just hours after schools broke up for the summer holiday.

Officers found several large stones on the road which had been thrown from the grass verge next to the A465 near to Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.

Today Mr Wells' girlfriend paid tribute to the dead motorist who worked in Swansea and was on his way home to Ebbw Vale for the weekend when he died.

Jodie Witcomb said: 'John was everything to me - he was my world. I'm broken inside. He was so lovely and gave me so many happy memories. I loved him with all my heart.'

Eye-witnesses said Mr Wells' silver Seat Ibiza was 'T-boned' by a car travelling in the opposite direction.

Delivery driver Andrew Price, 29, had his windscreen smashed by the youths just three minutes before the fatal crash.

He said: 'The children were standing on a grass bank and at first I thought one of them was waving at me.

'Then there was a loud cracking sound and I realised the boy had thrown a stone at my windscreen.

'It was an incredibly dangerous thing to do and I remember thinking that someone could get killed.

'I drove to my office a couple of minutes away and reported it to the police. I heard later that someone had been killed.

'When the police took a statement from me the next day they said I would have been caught up in it if I had been driving past three minutes earlier.'

Scene: Floral tributes left at the side of the A465 where Mr Wells died

Mr Wells's family paid tribute to him in a poem which read: 'Sometimes I think I'm dreaming; I can't believe it's true; The day your heart stopped beating, was the day ours broke in two.

'Thank you for the years we shared, the love you gave; The way you cared. Your smiling face will always be a treasure in our memory.

'Love you forever. Your devastated family.'

The three children were questioned after they were allegedly seen hurling stones into the path of cars on the 60mph stretch of the Heads of the Valleys road.

It is believed that after one car was hit by a projectile the driver made an emergency stop, causing a three car pile-up.

Police are trying to trace the driver of a car which stopped on the inside lane of the dual carriageway - possibly after being hit by a flying stone.

Six people were taken to hospital and two - holidaymakers from South Africa - were detained for treatment.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Hurley said: 'We need to speak to anyone who was in the vehicle which  was stopped on the inside lane with its hazard warning lights on.

'We believe they may have vital information in relation to this accident and could have crucial evidence as a witness.'

A spokesman said: 'A number of witnesses have come forward to say they saw three youths throwing stones into the carriageway.

'It was a nasty accident and clearly throwing stones into a road is a very dangerous thing to do.'