THE road on which four men lost their lives does not automatically qualify for safety measures, say council bosses.

Residents are calling for safety barriers to be put up on the B4239 coast road at St Brides after a car went off the road and plunged into a reen killing Scott Harding, 25, his brother Warren, 27, Andrew Brooks, 30 and 26-year-old Geraint Hill, at the weekend.

The bodies of the four were found in a partially-submerged car in a reen at St Brides, Newport on Sunday morning.

But Newport city council says that although an investigation into safety measures is ongoing there is no statutory requirement to install crash barriers.

A spokesman for New-port city council said: "The council offers its deepest sympathies to the families of the four men who died in this tragic accident and officers are working with Gwent Police in a bid to establish what caused this tragedy.

"At this stage it is too early to predict what caused the accident although an initial analysis of historical data does not suggest the location was of a significantly higher risk than other similar sites."

The spokesman said Newport council, as highway authority, will look at all safety issues regarding the stretch of road.

He added: "The coast road does not meet the criteria for which there is a statutory requirement to install safety barriers.

"Safety barriers and fences are required for all new trunk roads where speeds of 50mph or above are permitted and new dual carriageways in certain circumstances. The B4239 coast road does not form part of the trunk road network and is not a new or existing dual carriageway."

The men, all from Risca, were found when the overturned Toyota Corolla they were in was recovered from an eight-foot wide and four-foot deep reen on the B4239 between St Bri-des and Duffryn.

The car is believed to ha-ve left the old coastal road between Newport and Cardiff between 8.30pm on Saturday and 7.15am the following day. It had been travelling in the direction of Cardiff.

Gwent Police have called the incident a freak accident and are not treating it as suspicious.

An examination of the car is being carried out to check whether mechanical fault was to blame.

Jean Whitehead, 53, told the Argus earlier this week how her son Gavin, 28, had a lucky escape by pulling out of the trip at the last minute. Mrs Whitehead, of Springfield Road, Risca, has started a door-to-door collection to raise money for the families.

She said: "The community spirit has been most definitely overwhelming. I have a bag full of money for the families. People have been very generous.

"I said goodbye to the boys at the crash scene on Tuesday.

"It was hard as they were like brothers to Gavin - I have seen them all grow up together."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gwent Police on 01633 838111 or the Collision Investigation Unit on 01633 643091.