Two young women and a ten-year-old girl killed in one of the worst motorway crashes seen in Sussex have been named.

They were Julie Smith, 29, and her daughter Danielle, from South Croydon, and Jennifer Cheale, 19, from Kenley, near Croydon.

An inquest at East Surrey Coroner's Court, Redhill, was opened and adjourned yesterday.

A fourth woman who was travelling in the same Peugeot car was said to be in a critical condition today.

The accident happened when the Peugeot in which they were travelling crashed into a barrier at the Gatwick turn off of the M23 and collided with a Citroen car travelling towards Brighton.

The driver of the Citroen received slight injuries.

The accident happened at 11.30pm on Monday. Members of the same family following in a car behind witnessed the collision and were first on the scene.

They tried in vain to free them from the wreckage before emergency services arrived.