Six killed in head-on car crash

Six people died and six were injured when two vehicles collided on a snaking stretch of the A57, near Sheffield.

Six people died and six were injured when two vehicles collided on a snaking stretch of the A57, near Sheffield.

Police said a Daewoo car and a Toyota Land Cruiser 4-wheel drive collided close to the Todwick crossroads at about 8 pm last night. Two women and a man in the car and three men in the Land Cruiser died as a result of the head on crash.

Firefighters spent three hours cutting the victims from the wreckage of the vehicles.

Local residents said the accident occurred at a notoriously treacherous junction on the A57 road.

"There have been a number of fatal accidents there in the past but the death of six people in a single crash is certainly the worst," said news agent John Palmer. "Everyone just feels numb.

"The problem is that the road narrows immediately after an S-bend and people have been unable to change lanes in time after overtaking on the S-bend."

Many parts of northern England were hit by heavy rains on Sunday, with flash flooding in some areas.

The injured had been taken to local hospitals, police said.