Named, couple who drove wrong way down M40

AN elderly couple who were killed after they drove a car and caravan for eight miles in the wrong direction on the M40 motorway have been named by police.

John Norton, 80, and his partner Olive Howard, 87 lived together in a house called ‘Dream Cum Tru’, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Mr Horton, who had recently recovered from cancer, was believed to have been at the wheel of his Subaru Forester and towing a caravan when he took a wrong turning down the M40 motorway.

He started travelling southbound along the northbound carriageway in north Oxfordshire. Dozens of motorists swerved to try to avoid crashing into the car and caravan, with many attempting to attract the driver’s attention by flashing their lights.

After eight miles, Mr Horton and his partner, who often took trips in their caravan, eventually crashed head-on into an approaching Ford Mondeo.

The driver of the Mondeo, former soldier Stuart Richards, 32, was also killed instantly in the collision.

Neighbours revealed Mr Horton’s battle with cancer. One said: ‘He has been getting treatment for a while but had made a full recovery. And he was very fit, upright and switched on, so I’ve no idea what must have happened.’