TWO members of a bowling club were killed in a horrific crash yesterday.

They were among five women players from a club in the Hartlepool area who were travelling in two cars when one had a puncture.

Police said both cars - a Ford Granada and a Ford Escort - had stopped by the side of the A19 near Peterlee, County Durham, when they were hit by a lorry.

The women who died were standing outside the cars at the time.

Both cars and the lorry ended up down an embankment. The other three women were all injured, one seriously. They were taken to hospital, but their condition was not known last night.

The dead and injured, who had not been named last night because relatives had not been informed, are thought to be in their fifties and sixties.

The 29-year-old lorry driver, 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.

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

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

Police are appealing for anyone who saw the crash to contact them on 0191-386 4929