A couple whose toddler son was killed in the A23 horror crash told today of their joy at news they are expecting a baby.

Steve and Tracey Mohabir's two-year-old son Marcus was among the eight who died in the accident near Pyecombe in May.

Their new baby is due on January 20.

Mr Mohabir was the only survivor when the Land Rover Freelander he was travelling in crashed head-on with a BMW which had leapt over the central reservation barrier.

He held his dying son's hand as rescue teams battled to free victims from the wrecked vehicles.

He said: "No one will ever replace Marcus and we're very sad he won't be around to enjoy a little brother or sister. But we are over the moon that Tracey is expecting."

Mrs Mohabir, 38, discovered she was pregnant on the day of Marcus's funeral.

Mr Mohabir said: "All our friends and relatives burst into tears when we told them.

"Tracey has had scans and everything is going well but we don't know the baby's sex - we want to keep that as a surprise."

The couple, and all the families of those who died, are still waiting to hear the result of a major Sussex Police inquiry into the cause of the crash.

Friends and relatives have told how the delay is adding to their pain.

Mr Mohabir, who is still recovering at home from a broken leg, smashed elbow and internal injuries, said his wife must have been two months pregnant on the day of the accident.

She was at a wedding when her husband and their two best friends took Marcus on a day trip to Brighton from their home in Godalming, Surrey.

She stayed at her husband's hospital bedside for two weeks as he fought to survive.

Mr Mohabir told The Argus how Marcus had boasted to staff at his nursery that "Mummy's pregnant" in the days before his death.

He said: "People came up to us and congratulated us but we had to tell them Tracey wasn't pregnant. Little did we know. It's a bit spooky looking back at that now."

Neighbours were invited to Steve and Tracey's home last night and the pregnancy was the main topic of conversation.

Mr Mohabir said: "Marcus's toys and pictures are all around the house and I had to make a conscious effort to close off my mind from what happened."

Mr Mohabir, a 35-year-old head chef, said police held regular meetings with the families to update them on the investigation into why the BMW left the southbound carriageway and flew into the path of the Freelander.

He said: "It is very in-depth and they are checking whether the cars were mechanically safe or whether something was on the road or something was going on inside the cars.

"There are two or three possible causes but the police do not want to say what they are."

Marcus was killed in the Freelander along with the Mohabirs' friends Kate Beasley, 30, and her husband Toby, 33.

Killed in the BMW were Aaron Sharpe, 20, and his sister Katherine, 18, of Gossops Drive, Crawley; Gemma Smoker, 17, of Henshaw Close, Bewbush; Danielle Billingham, 17, who had just moved to Crawley; and Mitch Treliving, 19, from Faygate, near Horsham.

Gemma's mother, Jacqueline, said: "I wake up every morning crying. I'm not coping well at all and I'm on medication.

"They are taking ages going through everything and we are still in the dark. I would rather get it all over and done with."

Aaron and Katherine Sharpe's mother, Gloria Marshall, said: "I appreciate the work police are putting into it but it doesn't stop me feeling frustrated.

"Police are keeping us informed but I feel I am in limbo and we are all looking for answers, for some resolution and closure."

Mrs Marshall has visited the scene of the crash and plans to view the wreckage of the BMW in which her children died "just to get a few more answers in my mind". She also wants to place a permanent memorial close to the site of the tragedy.

Chief Inspector Jim Read, in charge of the investigation into the crash, is providing the families with regular briefings.

Superintendent Nick Wilkinson, head of the force road policing unit, said he expected the inquiry to be completed before the end of the year, after which inquests can be held.

He said: "I sympathise with the families but this has been one of the most exhaustive investigations ever undertaken.

"Eight people died and we owe it to them and their relatives to leave no stone unturned."