Six killed in head-on collision

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The Ford Mondeo's 23-year-old driver and his five passengers - two men, aged 18 and 19, two women, aged 18 and 19, and a third woman whose age is not yet known - died in the crash, which happened near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, in the early hours of Thursday.

In what police described as a "harrowing" operation, the bodies of the six were removed from the wreckage on the A607 on Thursday afternoon.

A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said it was unlikely the formal identifications of the dead would take place immediately.

The driver of the DAF articulated lorry, a 48-year-old man from the Melton area, was undergoing treatment at the Leicester Royal Infirmary after complaining of chest pains.

His 17-year-old son, at the scene to collect his father's mobile phone, said the Norbert Dentressangle employee had been "on his way back to the depot" at the logistics and transport firm at Grantham, Lincs, when the crash happened.

The lorry driver was arrested after the crash but was later released and told by police that he would face no further action.

The Mondeo had been travelling towards Leicester and was about one mile from Melton Mowbray town centre when the crash happened at 1.57am.

Sergeant Simon Adkin, of Leicestershire Police, said: "The investigation is in its very early stages but it appears that the vehicles collided head-on.

"The lorry driver is now being treated as a significant witness. We need to trace any other potential witnesses who were travelling along the A607 at the time."