A GWENT town is in mourning after four men, two of whom were brothers, were killed when their car left the road while on a fishing trip.

The men, who are all from Risca, were found when the overturned Toyota Corolla they were in was recovered from a eight foot wide and four feet deep reen on the B4239 between St Brides and Duffryn.

The men were named today as Geraint Hill, 26, Scott Harding, 25, his brother Warren John Harding, 27, and Andrew Brooks, 30.

The car, which was found partially submerged, is believed to have left the old coastal road between Newport and Cardiff sometime between 8.30pm on Saturday and 7.15 the following morning. It had been travelling in the direction of Cardiff.

The wreckage was spotted in the drainage ditch by a passing motorist who dialled 999.

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

The Gwent coroner David Bowen has been informed of the incident and an inquest is expected to be opened and adjourned later this week.

Post-mortem examinations are to be carried out on the men to determine the cause of their deaths.

A thorough investigation of the Toyota Corolla is being carried out to try and detect whether mechanical fault was to blame.

Family and friends of the victims have laid six bouquets of flowers at the scene. One card reads: "Brooksey, Scott, Warren, and Hilly - thinking of you always. They say God takes the best, he certainly has this time.

Thinking of you always, love Hayley, Kian, Nina, Stacey R and Justine and Family."

Another reads: "Daddy, we miss you loads, your babies Taylor and Macy xx."

A third said "You will be missed but never forgotten", while another read "Goodnight boys, sleep well, you will be missed dearly."

Chief Inspector John Pavett of the Road Policing Unit of Gwent police said: "It doesn't bear thinking about what the family of these men are going through now - some of these men were fathers."

He added: "We are treating this as a tragic accident and we would appeal to anyone who saw the car - a red Toyota Corolla with a G- registration plate - to come forward with any information. We know the car entered the water some time after 8.30pm on Saturday night and before 7.15am this morning when it was discovered but we do need more information to put together a fuller picture of the movements of the vehicle to establish why it left the road when it did."

A local resident who wished not to be named said: "It is quite common for the cars to go into the reens but it is very rare for there to be any serious injury or death resulting from it."

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