Two young men have died in a horror crash.

Witnesses passing the scene said the victims' Vauxhall Vectra was mangled beyond recognition.

The collision happened just before midnight on Wednesday on the A2220 Worth Park Avenue in Crawley.

Sussex Police said the Vectra, which was being driven by a 22-year-old man from Crawley, collided with a VW Sharan and then crashed into a tree.

Both the Vectra driver and his 26-year-old passenger, also from Crawley, died at the scene.

The Sharan driver, a 52-year-old man from Crawley, suffered shock but was uninjured.

The road was closed for several hours while emergency services cleared the wreckage.

Paramedics confirmed both men died at the scene.

Sussex Police crash investigators carried out an examination of the scene before two fire crews from Crawley used hydraulic cutting equipment to free the two bodies.

One man at the scene saw what remained of the Vectra.

He told The Argus: "I've never seen anything quite like it. You couldn't recognise the vehicle.

"The car appears to have twisted as it squeezed between a tree and a lamppost. It was horrible."

The Argus published figures yesterday by West Sussex Fire and Rescue that revealed there were six fatalities in the borough of Crawley over an 18-month period.

The figures for fatalities and serious injuries across West Sussex, including Crawley, have prompted the fire service to launch a campaign warning young drivers to be careful.

The fire service's road safety campaign will tour Sussex talking to pupils about the horrors officers face when they arrive at the scene of an accident.

The service wants to show youngsters they risk their lives when driving while distracted by loud music or mobile phones.

The deaths of the two young men come after two sisters and their mother's partner were killed in a collision on the notorious Bewbush dual carriageway in Crawley on October 15.

Rebecca Hassell, 15, Lucy Hassell, 12, and Theodorius Lubbe, known as Dick, 44, from Fishbourne, near Chichester, all died in the smash between a Land Rover Freelander and a Ford Focus on the A264.

The names of the two young men are being withheld by police until relatives have been told.

Road police at Haywards Heath have launched an investigation. Anyone with information should call Sergeant Peter Verney on 0845 6070999.