Friends and relatives of five teenagers killed in one of the worst car crashes seen in Sussex have described their loss as a tragic waste of young lives.

All five - aged from 14 to 17 - died instantly when the stolen blue Rover Metro slammed into a garden wall as police followed the car at 1.40am on Saturday.

The victims were named last night as Kelly Goring, 17, Danielle Martin, 16, Lee Morgan, 14, Daniel Carwardine, 16, and Barrie Mackay, 15, all from Hastings and St Leonards.

Friends of Daniel and Danielle, known as DJ, said the pair were grief-stricken after attending a funeral of a 16-year-old friend only hours before the accident.

And others told how some of the group had been drinking in a graveyard before the stolen Metro slammed into a wall at high speed.

Friends said that later the five gathered at a house in Hollington, St Leonards, to drink, listen to drum and bass music and watch television.

Later that night, one friend said up to 20 youths congregated at the graveyard at Church-in-the-Wood to drink cider, lager and vodka.

Most of the youths headed home between 11pm and 1am but the five victims went on to steal the K-registered Metro.

It was spotted by police at 1.40am after reportedly striking a cyclist. Officers in a marked car followed the teenagers.

But two minutes later the Metro careered out of control and ploughed into a lamp post and garden wall in Battle Road, St Leonards, killing all five teenagers.

Last night Daniel's father, Lee Carwardine, 42, said: "People are going to be grieving over this for ever. It's just a tragic waste of young lives. They are all just kids."

Sidney Ewing, 16, said: "This is a double blow for us because we lost another friend last week who died of a brain tumour. She was only 16. DJ and Dan had been to her funeral.

"They went out and had a drink. They were pretty drunk. We've also heard there was a police chase before the driver lost control and crashed. We're all so shocked."

Filsham Valley School sixth form student Charlene Lunnon, 16, said she was with three of the five just an hour before the smash.

She said: "We went up to the church just to mess around. Those three were all drinking because Dan and DJ had been to a funeral the day before.

"I had no idea they were going to get into a car and definitely not that it was stolen. They would never have done that. They just weren't that sort. I nearly went with them but I decided to go home."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has launched an inquiry into the collision.

It refused to reveal whether the Metro was being pursued by police.

But it said the tragedy would form part of a major review into the alarming rise in deaths from police pursuits and high-speed driving.

IPCC duty commissioner Mike Franklin said: "This tragedy is extremely distressing for everybody involved.

"The investigation into all the circumstances has been continuing throughout the weekend and I will ensure that we get to the bottom of what happened and why."

A huge row of floral tributes and messages of sorrow was laid by the demolished wall during the weekend.