Two people, who died following a collision on the A59 Brockholes Brow at Preston, have been named.

The incident happened at around 6.40pm on Wednesday when a group of five youngsters were walking down Brockholes Brow parallel to the two lane stretch which leads towards the city centre.

As the group crossed the road three of them were struck by a BMW travelling towards the city centre in lane two, the police have said.

Rachel Marie Murphy, aged 21, from Preston was pronounced dead at the scene and Shelby Maher, aged 17, also from Preston, was taken by ambulance to the Royal Preston Hospital where she died a short time later.

A 15-year-old girl was taken to the same hospital and then transferred to the Manchester Children’s Hospital suffering from a possible broken leg and arm.

The driver of the BMW, a 21-year-old man from the city, was not injured but was treated for shock.

The road was closed for three and a half hours for accident investigation.

Sgt James Power, of the Road Policing Unit, said: “Two young people have tragically lost their lives in this collision and their families are being supported at this time by specially trained officers.

“I would appeal to anyone who saw what happened to contact the police on 101 quoting log number 1233 of April 21st.”