M5 crash inquest: Drivers describe wall of fog and smell of…
Witnesses to one of the worst British motorway pile-ups described smelling gunpowder and seeing a wall of thick fog moments before the fatal crash, an inquest heard yesterday.Other motorists told how they hit what they described as “emulsion” and a “white curtain” as they drove along the M5 near Taunton, in Somerset, on the night of November 4, 2011.Seven people died and 51 were injured in the crash, which happened close to Junction 25 of the motorway.A series of collisions,…

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M5 crash: inquest into seven deaths near Taunton starts today
An inquest into the deaths of seven people killed in a massive motorway crash will begin today.
West Somerset coroner Michael Rose will resume the hearing following the trial last year of firework contractor Geoffrey Counsell.
Mr Counsell, who had been operating a display at the nearby Taunton rugby club, was cleared at Bristol Crown Court of breaching health and safety laws on the night of the accident on the M5 near Taunton in November 2011.
The 51-year-old said he believed the decision to…

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HS2 and crumbling roads could bring West Country's transport…
Crumbling roads, inadequate railways and dwindling bus services – along with the threat posed by HS2 – could cripple the West Country’s transport network.That was the grim warning for the region’s road, rail and bus users today from industry experts and politicians.Chief among the threats facing the West is the controversial HS2 rail link being proposed by the Government to drive economic growth in the Midlands and the North.The West was also warned it must confront the spectre of crumbling…

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