Driver arrested after two teenagers killed in Thirsk crash

A motorist has been arrested after a crash on a country road which killed two teenage boys and saw several other people taken to hospital.

The 22-year-old driver of one of the vehicles, a VW Bora, was held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He has since been released on bail while enquiries continue, North Yorkshire Police said.

The two 17-year-olds who died in the collision on the A61 in North Yorkshire on Wednesday night have been named locally as Mason Pearson and George Turner, both from Thirsk.

They had been back seat passengers in the VW Bora and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Two other males, aged 17 and 18, who were passengers in the same car, remain in a critical condition in hospital.

A 27-year-old man who police said was from outside the area and had been driving the other car, a Ford Focus, has been discharged from hospital.

A 24-year-old woman who was a passenger in that car remains in hospital while a three-year-old girl and a six-month old boy have been kept in hospital for observations as a precaution.

Inspector Dave Barf, from North Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Group, warned people against the "irresponsible spreading of information, which potentially has no basis in fact" as the investigation continues.

He urged people with information to contact police rather than put it on social media.