THE devastated family of a popular Lye dad who was killed in an horrific car crash have told how they have been left “lost in grief on an unprecedented scale”.

Dad-of-three Mohammed Shakeel had been driving his 18-year-old son Mohammed Sohail to a job interview when they were hit by another car on a country road at Frankley Green, near the M5.

Mr Shakeel, aged 41, of Vicarage Road, was taken to hospital after the crash on November 4 but later died.

His son Sohail has only recently been released from hospital but is currently unable to walk and faces a long road to recovery after suffering “horrifying injuries” in the two-car smash in which a five-year-old boy from Birmingham also died.

The teenager spent a fortnight in critical care and was too unwell to attend the funeral of his beloved father.

His relatives have told how they were unable to tell him for five weeks that his devoted dad had died after the crash for fear it would crush his recovery.

Mr Shakeel's niece Kirren Shehzadi said: “Sohail is slowly recovering from the horrifying injuries he attained from the car accident but he has a long road of recovery ahead of him. It has been difficult as a family to witness him endure the agony and discomfort he has had to face.

“He has been left absolutely devastated after learning his father did not survive."

She described taxi driver and business owner Mr Shakeel, who had recently opened Maison De La Beautee hair and cosmetics shop in Brierley Hill High Street, as “a devoted family man who has been taken away from his family and friends too soon” and she said: “Our hearts will never recover from the anguish and hurt we are suffering.

"He was deeply loved by everyone he encountered. He was full of life and always smiling.

"He went above and beyond to help any individual in need; he devoted his life to his wife, children, and family.”

She said there has been a small comfort in “knowing that in his final journey he was completing his parental duties which is what gave him the most pleasure”.

But she said: "We are a family lost in grief on an unprecedented scale; there are no words to define the loss and devastation; our world was fragmented in an imaginable way.”

Usman Ahmed, Mr Shakeel’s heartbroken 16-year-old son who has had to quit college to run the family business, said: “My father had a heart of gold and taught me that life is to be lived in kind and caring means.

"He was the greatest father a child could ask for; he worked very hard to ensure he provided for our needs and more. I love and miss my father very much, I wish he could have witnessed me and my two siblings achieve our dreams and progress into adulthood.”

The family say thousands of people from across the world have visited Mr Shakeel’s home to pay their respects since his tragic death and Kirren said: "The imam leading the funeral in England said it was one of the largest funerals to be witnessed in 50 years, his funeral in Pakistan was also one of the largest to be witnessed; this speaks volumes about his beautiful nature and popularity."

She praised the efforts of the emergency response teams and the “extremely compassionate” staff at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital for their help following the incident which involved a Kia Ceed and a white Peugeot Expert which was being driven by Mr Shakeel - who also left a wife Gazala, aged 46, and daughter Anneasa, aged 14.

West Mercia and Warwickshire Police continue to appeal for witnesses to the crash in Ravenhayes Lane, in which a 35-year-old woman and 40-year-old man were also injured.

A nine-week old baby was also in the grey Kia at the time but was unhurt.

Anyone with information is urged to call police on 101, quoting incident number 300s of 4 November.