An inquest into the death of a Cornish man who died in a horrific 37 car pile-up on the M5 starts today (March 31).

The hearing at Taunton’s Shire Hall into the death of Kye Thomas, 38, of Gunnislake and six other people in the M5 crash at Taunton on November 4, 2011, is set to take two weeks.

West Somerset Coroner Michel Rose will also conduct the hearing into the deaths of lorry driver Terry Brice, 55, of Bristol, Michael Bartin, 67, and his daughter, Maggie, 23, of Berkshire, Tony and Pamela Adams, 73 and 70, of Newport and gas supply worker Malcolm Beacham, of Woolavington, near Bridgwater. 

They all died in the 37-vehicle pile-up in which 51 people were also injured travelling northwards just past junction 25.

Police investigations centred on whether smoke from a fireworks display at nearby Taunton Rugby Club led to reduced visibility, though a trial against the event organiser, Geoffrey Counsell, later collapsed.

The family of one of the victims has started an on-line petition to change the law governing fireworks displays.