A parish priest last night spoke of his sorrow after a horror crash less than a mile away from his church claimed the lives of a woman and a toddler despite desperate efforts by medics to save them.

A man, believed to be in his late 20s, was also last night fighting for his life in hospital after his gold BMW crashed into a tree on a major route connecting Thetford and King's Lynn yesterday morning.

The trio are understood to be from the same family unit and Eastern European foreign nationals living in East Anglia. Police officers were last night said to be trying to trace family members overseas.

Father James Mather, priest at St Mary's, in Crimplesham, near Downham Market said: 'It's terribly sad and shocking news.

'When you hear about these things on the news, it always feels like it happens somewhere else but when it's in your own patch and involves a child, it's dreadful. We will pray for all the family and those affected by this at our service tomorrow and keep them in our thoughts as well as in our own personal prayers.'

The emergency services, including an East Anglian Air Ambulance crew, raced to the scene following the crash at 7.30am.

Two fire crews from Downham Market and Methwold attended the scene and firefighters used hydraulic rescue equipment to release the woman and man from the car. Paramedics, who had arrived on the scene moments early, had removed the young boy from the vehicle.

Police officers then shut the A134 at Crimplesham near its junction with Main Road and diverted traffic until 11am.

The male driver was treated at the scene before being flown by air ambulance to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. His condition was last night believe to still be critical.

The female passenger, believed to be in her early 20s, died at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics and doctors at the scene. The 14-month-old boy was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in King's Lynn, with 'critical' injuries but died a few hours later.

There were no other vehicles involved in the crash, which was about 400 yards away from the Main Road junction heading away from King's Lynn.

It is not know yet what caused the 318 BMW to leave the road on the straight section of the road, lined with trees.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust confirmed two land ambulances and a rapid response car were sent to the scene and said the injuries suffered by the man were 'critical'.

The spokesman added: 'This is an incredibly tragic incident. Despite best efforts of the crews involved the woman could not be saved and the child and man are in a serious condition. Our thoughts are with all those affected.'

An East Anglian Air Ambulance spokesman said the crew of Anglia Two landed in a field next to the incident and doctors Dan Nevin and Michaela Zasa along with and critical care paramedic Jemma Varela treated the man at the scene for multiple injuries and anaesthetised him prior to rapidly flying him to hospital.

Anyone who witnessed the collision or who saw the manner of driving of the vehicle should contact Norfolk Constabulary's serious collision investigation team on 101.