The teenagers, aged 14-17, died after the car, which had been stolen, swerved into a lamppost before hitting the wall in St Leonards, East Sussex. All five died at the scene and some of them had to be cut from the wreckage.

Diana and Chris Farrell, who live in the house on Battle Road where the car, a blue Metro, struck the wall, said they were woken by a loud bang. Diana Farrell said: “It was behind my car, which was parked in the driveway. I couldn’t believe how much damage there was.”

It later emerged that the Metro had been stolen from a house in St Leonards, and was reported missing by its owner around 6.30am.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has opened an investigation. It said officers in a marked vehicle had spotted the car after receiving a report about it. It crashed two minutes later, at 1.42am. Police said they had “involvement with the vehicle immediately prior to the crash”.

Mike Franklin, IPCC duty commissioner, said: “I will ensure the investigation finds out what happened and why.”

The five, three boys and two girls, were friends from the Hollington estate. One was named as Daniel Carwardine, 16, a trainee car mechanic. He was a keen footballer. His brothers Thomas and Jack laid flowers near the crash scene.

Their father Lee said he had heard about the crash on the radio, adding: “I went to the police station and asked and they showed me a picture, and it was Dan. My world has beentorn apart.”

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