THREE people died and a fourth was seriously injured yesterday when their car crashed into a tree and burst into flames.

Passers-by managed to pull one man free from the wreckage, then watched in horror as a fireball engulfed the vehicle, killing a man and two women.

Northumnbria Police said the Seat Cordoba, carrying four friends, skidded off the road at Bill Quay, Gateshead, and hit a tree at 1am.

Three passers-by were involved in rescuing a rear seat passenger moments before the vehicle burst into flames.

A police surgeon confirmed the three victims dead at the scene but a spokesman said that it would take at least until Friday to formally identify their bodies.

Last night, friends said two of the victims were Scott Castlehow, 21, and 19-year-old Laura Howson, both of Leam Lane, Gateshead.

Mr Castlehow lived with his parents and was a striker in his local pub team, Wardley Willows.

Team manager Robert Jameson, 43, said: "I feel shattered at the minute. I'm walking around in a daze. It's hard to come to terms with a young lad with so much ahead of him dying like that."

The rescued passenger, a 26-year-old Tyneside man, is being treated at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.