Two children die in crash

The stretch of the bypass where the accident happened

An eight-month-old baby girl and her mother have been killed in a road crash in Cambridgeshire which also claimed the life of a five-year-old boy.

The boy's mother has been left seriously injured, police said.

The accident, involving a Citroen Xantia and a Ford Fiesta travelling in opposite directions, happened on the A142 bypass at Stuntney, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, shortly before 1900 GMT on Wednesday.

Each car contained a couple and their child. Police said the cause of the accident is unclear.

Death toll

Two passengers in the Fiesta, eight-month-old Hannah Sykes and her mother Karen Sykes, both died.

The driver of the car, a 34-year-old man who is believed to be Hannah's father, suffered an arm injury and was treated in hospital.

Police said the family were from Dersingham, Norfolk.

The child in the Citroen five-year-old Jake Thompson, was also declared dead at the scene.

Cause unknown

His mother, Davina Thompson, 31, suffered life-threatening neck and head injuries and was take to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, said police.

A 33-year-old man, believed to be Jake's father, suffered chest and hand injuries in the accident and was also being treated at the same hospital.

Police said the family were from Newmarket, Suffolk.

"This was a terrible accident. An awful tragedy at Christmas," said a police spokesman.

"It's not clear yet exactly what happened and why the cars crashed.

No witnesses

"We believe the cars were travelling in opposite directions, although it's not clear whether they collided head-on," he said.

The spokesman said the accident was not thought to have been witnessed by any other motorists and officers were not sure what had gone wrong.

"It's so tragic that each car should have contained a family and a woman and two small children have died," he said.

There was no suggestion that either driver was over the drink-drive limit, he said.

Police will now prepare a report for the coroner and establish whether any driving offences might have been committed.

The crash left the A142 bypass, which is a single carriageway road, closed for several hours.