Fatal road site has crash history

The lorry driver was also injured in the crash

A stretch of road near to where six young people were killed in a collision with a lorry was the scene of two previous fatal crashes.

Speed limits have been cut on parts of the A607 in Leicestershire to improve safety, the county council said.

A 23-year-old Ford Mondeo driver, three teenagers and two others died in the collision on Thursday between Kirby Bellars and Melton Mowbray.

People living near the site have spoken of their "shock" at the deaths.

Figures from Leicestershire County Council show there have been four other serious injury accidents and two fatal collisions on a 3km (1.9 mile) stretch of the A607 through Kirby Bellars since 2003.

But there have been no crashes in which people were injured at the exact spot where Thursday's multiple fatal happened, the authority said.

A council spokeswoman said: "We would like to express our sympathies to all those who have been affected by this tragic loss of life.

'Absolute tragedy'

"We will await the results of the police investigation before deciding whether or not any action is appropriate.

"The accident record for the bend in question shows no other personal injury accidents reported there in the past five years.

"We have introduced a series of speed reduction and safety measures all along the A607, which has reduced the accident rate along the whole stretch of road."

Glenys Green, 56, who works at nearby Asfordby News and Post Office,said collisions normally happened further up the road.

"I didn't think that bit where it happened today is that bad," she said.

"People have been talking about it, they're all pretty shocked - it's just awful."

Local county councillor Joe Orson said: "It's an absolute tragedy and there's much shock as well."

The 48-year-old lorry driver was also hurt in the crash and taken to hospital with chest injuries.