Tributes have flooded in for a teenage soldier and his friend after the car they were in crashed through a garden wall and into the front of a house.

 

Josh Powell, 18, and Daniel Hancock, 25, both of Grimethorpe, were thrown from the Peugeot 306 convertible last week.

 

Josh, a soldier in the Army's Light Dragoons died at the scene, while Daniel died in Barnsley Hospital on Wednesday morning.

 

Army pals described Josh, of Park Avenue, as a 'true family man', 'one of a kind' and 'a promising young soldier'.

 

Daniel, of Elizabeth Street, known as Danny, was described by a neighbour as a 'popular lad' from a well-known family.

 

Police said at 3.15am the vehicle left Engine Lane, Shafton, on a slight left-hand bend, hitting a lamppost before continuing along the footpath, through a garden and into the front of the home.

 

Police believe the car was speeding but said it is not clear who was driving it. No other people were in the car, they said.

 

Owner of the end terrace, Carl Jackson, said he awoke to find the car on fire outside his home and the pillar from the garden wall in their living room.

 

"It was like an earthquake shook the house," Carl, 50, said. "My main concern was the small fire from the car and I wanted to get my granddaughter and my son out of the house."

 

Carl said the family, including his wife Julie, left their home, fearing the car would explode.

 

By the time he returned with fire extinguishers, paramedics were at the scene.

 

Julie, 49, said she went to school with Josh's mum and the couple passed on their condolences to his family.

 

Carl said: "For us we've got insurance which will hopefully cover it but for them (the family) there's no coming back."