Checks will be made on a 'dangerous' stretch of the A140 after two people were killed yesterday, according to Suffolk County Council's cabinet member for road safety.

Investigations are continuing into the cause of the crash which took place half a mile north of the village of Yaxley, near Diss.

Emergency services were called to reports of a crash involving a car and an HGV just after 8.20pm.

The road was shut between the B1117 Yaxley Road junction and the B1077 junction until around 7.30am this morning.

A spokesman for Suffolk Police confirmed there were two fatalities in the car and that the driver of the HGV was treated by ambulance crews for shock.

Suffolk County Councillor James Finch, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: 'I am very saddened to learn of the loss of two lives on the A140 on Sunday night.

'I await the outcome of the police investigation as to the cause of the crash.

'In the meantime we will have the site checked for the condition of the road and consider whether any works are required to improve the situation.

'However the road between the north end of Yaxley bypass and Brome was surface dressed and relined in the summer of this year.

'As is normal in these circumstances, along with the police, we are reviewing all possible causes.'

The deaths were the fifth on the county's roads in four days after tragedies at Frostenden and Snape on Thursday, November 12.

Suffolk County Councillor for Hartismere, Jessica Fleming, said: 'It is a dangerous stretch of road and I know it is being looked at and I'm hoping some improvements will be made.

'I'd like to convey my sorrow for the families and victims.'

Daniel Poulter, MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, said: 'I was deeply saddened to hear about the tragic accident in Yaxley on Sunday night on a road that many people, including myself, use often.

'As the nights get darker and the winter sets in, it is so important that we all take extra care on the roads whether driving, cycling, riding or walking.

'My thoughts are with the friends and families of all those affected.'

The victims are yet to be named.

More than 30 people have died on Suffolk's roads in 2015, exceeding the number of those involved in fatal collisions last year.