Girl, 3, and 79-year-old man killed in M6 crash near Preston last night

Officers say the child was travelling in a Vauxhall Meriva which collided with a Porsche Boxter sportscar being driven by the man. One of the vehicles flipped over and burst into flames.

Two other adults in the Vauxhall suffered serious injuries and were taken to the Royal Preston Hospital for treatment.

An appeal for witnesses and dashboard camera footage was launched this afternoon. The collision occurred at around 5:50pm yesterday and closed the motorway overnight. Two lanes of the southbound carriageway are still closed awaiting emergency resurfacing repairs which will be carried out this evening.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said this afternoon: "Officers were called around 5.49pm yesterday (November 19) to reports of a collision between two cars on the southbound carriage between junctions 29 and 28.

"Sadly, a three-year-old girl and a 79-year-old man suffered fatal injuries. Our thoughts are with their families at this sad and distressing time and they will be supported by specially-trained officers.

"We believe a Porsche Boxster car driven by the 79-year-old man collided with a Vauxhall Meriva car in which the young girl was travelling. Two adults in the Vauxhall Meriva suffered serious injuries and were taken to the Royal Preston Hospital for treatment.

"The motorway was shut for several hours while the collision was investigated and for repairs to the carriageway."

Sgt Craig Booth, serious collision investigator, said: “These are very sad and tragic circumstances. This was a traumatic scene for all witnesses and emergency services involved. I would like to pass on my thanks for their dedication in dealing with an incident which can only be described as horrific.”

Anyone with information or who has footage, please contact 101 – quoting log 1102 of November 19.

This afternoon there were still tailbacks of up to four miles north of the collision site with vehicles delayed by around 45 minutes.

Motorists trapped in the tailbacks last night between junctions 29 and 28 took to social media overnight to condemn "heartless" drivers who used the hard shoulder to get past.

One said he had dashcam footage of the "disrespectful" drivers and would be handing it to police for action to be taken against them.