A rural community is in shock after two people were killed in a road traffic collision near their village.

The tragedy happened after a green Mini Cooper collided with a tree on Severalls Road in Methwold Hythe, near Downham Market.

Police said the car's occupants, a man and a woman, were aged in their late teens and early 20s.

The road was closed for several hours following the collision, which happened between 7pm on Sunday and 7am on Monday.

Fire crews from Thetford and Brandon were called at 7.20am on Monday and assisted the police and ambulance.

The car, mangled from the impact, was recovered at around 1pm and the road was reopened shortly afterwards.

Residents in Methwold Hythe said the road was not a particular accident black spot, with one describing it as 'just a narrow country lane'.

One resident said she had only seen a few crashes on the road in the past decade, but this fatal incident was 'the worst one' in her memory.

Another said it was the first fatal collision she had seen during her 16 years in the village.

Another added: 'We've only lived here for a few years and this is the first accident I can remember.

'It is normally a very quiet area, but it is a fairly busy road with a lot of tractors and vehicles like that.'

Workers at a factory near the scene of the crash estimated there was around one accident a year on the stretch of road, which leads to Southery and the A10.

Mick Peake, King's Lynn and West Norfolk borough councillor for Denton Ward, said: 'The road is busy, there are a lot of sharp bends and the road surface is very uneven.

'But it is not a black spot - I have not heard of any fatal accidents there in my time.'

Local motorists said the road is primarily used as an access route for agricultural vehicles to reach the local factories and farms.

Anyone with any information relating to the incident is asked to contact the Serious Collision Investigation Team (SCIT) at Norfolk Constabulary on 101.