Two arrested over Singleton fatal crash

Carly Notton and Danielle Lanchester were in a Renault Clio which left the road and hit a tree, before ending up in a field, on Garstang Road, Poulton, close to Singleton.

The crash happened at about 10.15pm on Sunday. The two teenagers inside the vehicle, both from Blackpool, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Two men, aged 18 and 20, who were travelling in a separate car, were arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

They continue to be questioned by detectives, a police spokeswoman said.

Garstang Road was closed between Poulton and Singleton until 4pm the following day for accident investigation work.

Police said they were “keeping an open mind” about the cause of the crash, including whether the two cars were racing.

They also said it was not yet clear whether the freezing weather had played a part in the crash.

Det Chief Insp Andrea Barrow, of Lancashire police, said: “This is a very serious road traffic collision in which sadly, two girls have lost their lives.

“I would appeal to anyone who witnessed what happened to come forward and also anyone who saw the two vehicles prior to the collision taking place to get in touch.

“A thorough investigation is underway as we try to establish exactly what happened.”

Firefighters who arrived at the scene of the crash said the deaths were tragic. Watch manager Ian Richards, from Blackpool’s Forest Gate Fire Station, said: “I’ve never seen anything like it and most of the police officers there were saying the same thing, just a terrible thing to have happened.’’

The crash was the fifth fatal accident in Lancashire in the past four days.