A lorry driver was arrested after a crash in which two young girls in a car were killed.

The collision involving the HGV and a Renault Clio happened on the A38 at Burton on Trent, Staffordshire.

The girls, aged 12 and 13, were believed to have been in the back seat of the car, which crossed the central reservation south of Clay Mills Island after colliding with the lorry. It was then in collision with a Mercedes on the opposite carriageway.

The female driver of the Clio was taken to hospital in Burton. She was said to have minor injuries. Police have not yet named the dead girls or the driver of the car.

The collision happened on Friday at about 5.30pm near the Clay Mills junction, Burton on Trent, on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire boarder. The two girls are both from the Burton on Trent area.

One of them died at the scene of the crash and the other later in hospital.

A spokesman from Staffordshire Police yesterday said: "A Volvo articulated large goods vehicle being driven by a male from the Telford area was in collision with a Renault Clio driven by a woman from the Burton on Trent area.

"These two vehicles were travelling on the southbound carriage way. As a result of this collision, the Clio crossed over the central reservation and collided with a Mercedes Benz car travelling on the northbound carriageway."

Half a dozen ambulances from Staffordshire and East Midlands services, with three paramedic response officers and four doctors, attended the scene. Two fire engines and a rescue tender, carrying cutting equipment, were also called out.

Police at Burton on Trent, who have requested that witnesses come forward, will conduct a full investigation to discover how the accident occurred.

The lorry driver, from Tel-ford, Shropshire, was arrested and was being questioned about the crash, said a police spokesman.

Witnesses or anyone with information can contact police on 08453 302010.

* Police are to mount speed checks on the A53 at Leek, Staffordshire, following the latest in a serious of fatal accidents.

A man died on Saturday morning after the Skoda he was driving was in collision with a tipper lorry on the Leek to Buxton Road. There were no further details about the victim.