A Bradford family was struck by tragedy when two members were killed and another two left fighting for their lives after a horrific road crash.

The head-on smash, on the A64 between York and Scarborough, is thought to have involved three generations of the same family, including a three-year-old girl.

Police have withheld their identification until their relatives are informed.

Officers said this was proving difficult because so many family members had been involved.

Their red Ford Fiesta was travelling from York to Scarborough one mile west of Malton - a spot known as Golden Hill - when the accident occurred at around 11.30am yesterday.

A North Yorkshire Fire Service spokesman said: "The emergency services who were called were met with an absolutely horrific scene.

"One police officer said that in his 16 years of service he had never seen such a disturbing sight."

Members of the emergency services involved have been offered counselling. The spokesman said the front of the Fiesta had been severely damaged, leaving the driver and rear-seat passenger dead.

"Fortunately, although we are probably called to hundreds of traffic accidents a year, ones like this are the exception to the rule. Anything like this involving children is particularly upsetting."

The vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a gold-coloured Lexus saloon carrying two elderly people from the Scarborough area.

Although the couple in the Lexus were seriously hurt, their injuries were not believed to be life threatening. They were taken to Scarborough General Hospital where they remained today.

Police said two occupants of the Fiesta were pronounced dead at the scene and had to be cut free from the wreckage by firefighters. Those who died are thought to be a woman in her forties - the youngster's grandmother - and another in her 20s, the child's mother.

A man in his 20s and a three-year-old girl, who were also cut free and rushed to York District Hospital, were described as being "very seriously hurt". The child is thought to have suffered internal injuries.

Police blocked the stretch of road and diverted traffic for four hours while they began an inquiry. The stretch of road is an accident blackspot, with two deaths there last year alone.