TWO brothers were among three football fans killed in a car crash in South Yorkshire as they drove home from watching England beat Kazakhstan at Wembley.
Tony Worby, aged 25, and his 21-year-old brother Jonathan died when the silver Ford Mondeo in which they were travelling careered off the northbound carriageway of the M1 near Thurcroft, Rotherham.
Their friend Gareth Rhodes, 23, died later at Rotherham District General Hospital.
All three men were from Bradford in West Yorkshire.
Engineering firm worker Gareth was a young dad who had been married for just a month. He wed school sweetheart Shelley Exley, also 23, in August. The couple have two sons - Callum, one, and Connor, nine months.
His family said Gareth, Tony and Jonathan decided to make the day trip to Wembley Stadium and agreed to travel back to Bradford the same evening.
They were killed after watching England's 5-1 win in a World Cup qualifying match. Their car was in the fast lane near the exit slip road to the M18 when it veered across the motorway to the hard shoulder, went over a barrier, and hit a sign at 9.40pm on Saturday.
South Yorkshire Police said all three men suffered head and internal injuries. It is not yet known who was driving the car, a police spokesman said.
Last night newlywed Gareth's mother-in-law, childminder Margaret Exley, 50, spoke of the family's devastation. She said: "The boys decided they were going to make it a round trip in just one day. It's such a long way to go there and back - maybe it was too much.
"We are all so devastated. My Shelley and Gareth have been together since they were 16 and they were getting ready for their new life married and with the boys.
"Now it has all been taken away and Shelley is alone. She can't even speak she is so upset. Gareth loved fishing and he couldn't wait to teach the little ones how to do it. I can't stop thinking about Tony and Jonathan's parents. They have lost two lovely boys."
The lads had been friends for years after Tony and Gareth worked together at a lighting company.
Mrs Exley said the families would be working hard to look after devastated bank worker Shelly and were waiting to hear from police how the accident occurred.
She said: "The police told us two of the boys had been thrown from the car and so they weren't sure who was behind the wheel."
Call the accident witness helpline 0114 220 2970 with information.
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FeaturesCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport. The full article contains 467 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
