Two men who died in a high-speed motorway crash on the M1 have been named by police.

Gulzar Ahmed, 22, and Mohammed (Mizanur) Rahman, 24, both from east London, were killed in a crash involving two BMWs on the M1 near Watford shortly before 2.40am on Monday.

A 25-year-old-man from east London was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and has been released on police bail until March pending further inquiries.

A relative of one of the other men involved in the crash told the Evening Standard: “They (Mizanur and Gulzar) were lovely guys and good family men. We are all very upset.

“Mizanur had a baby daughter and this is a terrible thing that has happened.”

Yesterday Mr Ahmed’s father, Nazrul, told the Evening Standard that his son was a well known and widely liked member of the community, and had recently completed a business course at Tower Hamlets College.

Speaking to the paper at his home in Stepney Green, the 63-year-old said: “He was always smiling and joking, he was very cheeky. He had lots of friends and was very popular.

“He was always well turned out and took a pride in his appearance.

“We are now grieving for our son. The community has been wonderful - people of all faiths have been to pay their respects.

“Everyone knew him and liked him. We will miss him so much. He stayed in quite a lot and was a nice family boy”, he added.

Friends took to Twitter, with @Sabah_ChotuAFC writing: “R.I.P Mizanur & Gulzar, from E.london, died on the M1 in a race where they were driving at 140mph. Thoughts & prayers with their families.”

Another tweeter, @Miraz_U, wrote: “R.I.P Mizanur & Guljar. Died in a car crash on the M1 driving at 140mph.”

The men who died were the driver and a rear seat passenger of one of the cars, Hertfordshire Police said.

Two other passengers in the same car received serious injuries and were taken to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, central London, while four men travelling in the other BMW also needed hospital treatment for their injuries.

Inspector Paul Campbell, from Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit, which is investigating the collision, said: “This was a devastating collision which has sadly resulted in two men losing their lives and others being seriously injured.

“Our investigation into the cause of this collision will be in-depth and will take a considerable amount of time. What we do know is that both of the vehicles involved - the two BMWs - have been travelling a number of seconds apart and have, for reasons unknown at this time, separately lost control before eventually colliding with each other.

“A number of contributory factors need to be carefully considered to piece together the precise events.”

Hertfordshire Police are appealing for witnesses to the collision or the events leading up to it to contact them on 101.