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A man and two young children have been killed in a crash involving a car and a lorry.

Police said they were called to a report of the collision on the A5 in Hinckley, Leicestershire, at about 16:25 BST on Friday.

The man, who was in his 30s, was driving the car. The children, aged nine and four, were his passengers.

A woman, who was also a passenger in the car, is in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Police said the driver of the lorry was not seriously injured.

The man and the nine-year-old boy were pronounced dead at the scene. The woman, who is in her 30s, and the four-year-old girl were taken to hospital but the girl died a short time later.

'Extremely distressing'

West Midlands Ambulance Service, East Midlands Ambulance Service and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service were all called to the scene of the crash.

The road was closed for several hours but reopened at about 00:25.

Leicestershire Police said officers were carrying out an investigation to establish the full circumstances of the crash.

Det Con Anna Andrew said: "Emergency services attended the scene and we know members of the public also assisted at the scene when the collision happened.

"Thank you to everyone who responded and helped in these devastating and extremely distressing circumstances."

Anyone with information about the collision has been asked to make contact with police.

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