Three people were killed and two children left fighting for their lives by a head-on smash in Bradford last night.

A silver Ford Focus, containing three local men, was overtaking a line of traffic when it was in collision with a green Rover car travelling the opposite way.

The Focus landed on the Rover before skidding off on to its roof.

Two children aged two and seven were critically injured and rushed to hospital following the crash in Thornton Road, Leaventhorpe.

Firefighters arrived at the scene outside Thornton Grammar School at 8.45pm to find the crumpled Focus on its roof and a group of women trapped inside the wreck of the Rover.

Passers-by rushed to pluck the two children from Rover car but rescuers from Fairweather Green fire station had to cut away its roof to free the adults inside, four female members of the same Asian family from Burnley.

Two teenagers inside the Ford Focus, the 19-year-old driver and his 18-year-old front seat passenger, were killed, while a third teenager in the rear survived and was "stable" in Bradford Royal Infirmary today.

Brenda Lee, 55, whose home is just yards from the scene, said: "I heard a horrendous, almighty bang and my husband told me to phone an ambulance, then we went straight out.

"It was absolutely terrible.

"There was a Rover by the side of the road with an Asian family in it, and another car further up which had turned on its roof. I heard screams from this car and ran straight across to it. There were at least two men in there and the lad in the back was screaming out, obviously in agony. I just got down on my knees and held his hand, which was all I could see of him, and told him everything was going to be all right."

She added: "There was a fatal accident here 12 months ago and we said at that time there would be more deaths if something wasn't done to slow down the traffic."

Today police were investigating the cause of the crash and appealing for witnesses.

Inspector Harcharan Singh, of Bradford North, police said: "This was a very serious accident. Three are dead and everyone was injured in some way. The two children have serious injuries."

The two-year-old girl was in Leeds General Infirmary today and the seven-year-old boy was in Bradford Royal Infirmary together with three relatives, all women in their 20s.

He said the smash happened as the Ford Focus containing three local men was driving towards Bradford.

"The Ford Focus was overtaking a line of traffic in Thornton Road and there are some bollards there. The driver tried to avoid some bollards and lost control, causing the vehicle to travel sideways and hit the Rover. It flipped on to the Rover and bounced off. We will be looking at the speed it was travelling."

A spokesman for Fairweather Green fire station described the scene when the first crew arrived.

He said the two children were being cradled in the arms of passers by.

"We were the first crew there and found the Ford Focus on its roof behind the Rover, which was all squashed up," he said. "Someone was holding a couple of little kiddies.

"It was fairly easy to get the people out of the Ford Focus but we had to cut the roof off the Rover. The front seat passenger of the Rover was an older woman, she was dead at the scene. The driver took longest to get out - she looked to be in her 20s, she wasn't in a very good way." The rescue effort took two and a half hours altogether, he said.

Today traffic sped past the scene, the only sign being a patch of sand in the road.

A tray of teacups was still on the pavement where neighbours had made drinks for emergency crews toiling amid the wreckage. A hundred yards away, flowers were tied to a lamp post displaying a 40mph speed sign where another victim died 12 months earlier.

A spokesman for WYMAS, the West Yorkshire ambulance service said: "Eight patients were taken to hospital, two of them were dead at the scene. The front seat passengers had head injuries and the other passengers had multiple, crush injuries."

Police are appealing for witnesses and want anyone who saw either of the two cars before the accident to contact them on (01274) 376059.