TWO women killed in a horrific crash yesterday are believed to have been driving to a bowls match.

The pair, understood to be from the Hartlepool area, were in two cars that were in collision with a lorry on the A19 near Peterlee, County Durham.

Another woman was seriously hurt and two others are thought to have escaped with only minor injuries.

All the dead and injured are thought to be in their fifties and sixties.

The lorry driver, thought to be a man in his twenties, from Seaham, County Durham, suffered a broken leg.

The accident happened on the northbound carriageway near the A19's junction with Burnhope Way, the main road to Peterlee town centre, at about 9am.

One theory accident investigators are looking at is that one of the two cars - a Ford Granada and a Ford Escort - suffered a puncture shortly before the collision.

A Durham Police spokesman said a passenger in the Granada died shortly after arriving at Sunderland Royal Hospital and the driver of the Escort was declared dead at the scene.

The driver of the Granada and her other passenger were believed to have suffered only minor injuries and were taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital.

A passenger in the Escort was seriously injured and was taken to Hartlepool General Hospital.

Fire crews were called to free the casualties from the wreckage. The carriageway was closed for five hours while the cars were removed.