A Newbury teenager died when a car full of young people spun off the road near Donnington Castle in the early hours of Sunday.

The Escort was on the B4494 at 2am, with two young men and three girls heading towards Wantage, when their car clipped a grass verge and overturned.

An 18-year-old man was airlifted to Oxford with head injuries, but has since been released, while the three girls – aged 17, 19 and 20 – were treated for cuts, bruises and shock in Reading.

Police are keen to speak to people in the area who may have seen the car or its occupants before the crash, and have asked the driver of a small two-door car, which overtook the Escort, to come forward, although they are not suspected.

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Matt Woollams-Seeney at Three Mile Cross roads policing via 0845 8 505 505.

Another shop bites the dust

CERAMICS shop Potamus is closing its doors in Northbrook Street, just weeks after escaping the blaze which burnt down the car parts shop next door. The independent stocked gifts and ornaments, but had been struggling during quieter times for Newbury’s retailers, and the shop is now on the market for £16,000 a year. The closure brings the number of outlets that have shut up shop in Newbury to 15.

Town centre manager on the mend

Newbury Town centre manager is recovering at his Wiltshire home after a minor stroke. The 58-year-old has been signed off work for four weeks by doctors, but is expected to make a full recovery. In the meantime, his work will be taken on by town centre steering group chairman Peter Atkinson.

No jobs will go in council divorce

West Berkshire Council leader Graham Jones has stressed that no jobs will be axed after he brought more than 400 staff in-house again, following the collapse of the outsourcing contract with private firm Amey.

Newbury.net first revealed the end of the contract in April, and the £170m contract was scrapped on June 30 after running for just three of its 10 years, but the new Conservative said that the end of the deal marked “an era of greater success for the council.”

Cllr Jones said: "I look forward to working with all staff in helping take the Council forward. All will be pleased to note that IT investment from the contract has brought real benefits to Council services, there will be no financial penalty to the Council, and there will be no compulsory redundancies. The way ahead is now clear."