A prominent councillor says lessons must be learned from the stolen car tragedy which killed four people in Bradford.

Councillor Ralph Berry, the Labour group’s education spokesman, said a review must be held into the cases of James McClusky, 21, Craig James, 17, Robert Lynn, 16, and Thomas Tilleard, 15, who perished in the fireball smash while trying to flee from police.

The four, described as “beyond control” by Coroner Roger Whittaker earlier this week, were killed when a stolen car they were travelling in smashed into a fish and chip shop in Laisterdyke on December 11, 2008.

The inquest heard that Thomas, of Lapwing Close, Lower Grange, and Mr McClusky, of Harrier Close, Lower Grange, had both been expelled from school and had descended into serious crime, from starting fires in their homes to burglary and taking cars.

Coun Berry, a probation worker for 13 years, said: “What we need to know is what was being done to track these children and their families. I know we have some very intensive youth projects in Bradford working across the generations. I don’t know how much of that has impacted on these families.

“Someone is going to have to review what happened in these cases. I think there’s a reluctance to engage with some of the more challenging families because it can be difficult and frightening. Things are let go. Do we assertively intervene when things go wrong?

“It goes against the libertarian instincts of British people.”

Coun Berry said some teenagers had no significant adult with credibility to relate to. He said: “Peer groups can take over and parents become less aware of what’s going on; they’re not causing bother at home because they’re out. When they get to 15 or 16, people get scared of them.

“We have quite a few parents who are struggling to parent.”

The Probation Service, which deals with adults aged over 18, said Mr McClusky was not serving a sentence at the time of his death, so was not under the service’s supervision.

The Telegraph & Argus asked Bradford Council what involvement it had with Thomas Tilleard and if there was an investigation into the circumstances leading up to the crash, and the help given to the four who were killed.

In response a statement issued on behalf of Julie Jenkins, Bradford Council’s assistant director of children’s social care, said: “It is a terrible tragedy that four young people lost their lives in the car accident.

“Some of the victims of the crash were known to the Youth Offending Team, which is a multi-agency service working with young people to help them stop getting involved in crime.”