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Shipston-on-Stour: Community shaken over teenager crash deaths

BBC A white tulip left at the sceneBBC
A white tulip was left at the scene of the crash in Warwickshire

A school attended by teenage victims of a fatal crash said the community has been "shaken" by their deaths.

A 16-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy died in hospital after a two-car crash near Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, on Friday afternoon.

Seven people were involved and the other five remain in hospital.

Chipping Campden School, in Gloucestershire, confirmed the four teenagers travelling in one of the cars were students there.

In a letter to parents, seen by the BBC, principal John Sanderson confirmed "with the heaviest of hearts", that the Year 12 pupils had been involved.

The scene of the crash on the B4035 Campden Road, near to the Portobello crossroads
The crash happened on the B4035 Campden Road, near to the Portobello crossroads on Friday afternoon

He wrote they had been travelling home from school when the Ford Fiesta they were in was involved in a collision with a Fiat 500 on the B4035 Campden Road at about 16:10 BST.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said that when paramedics arrived at the scene the two cars had been significantly damaged.

Four air ambulances were sent to the scene and all the occupants of both cars were taken to hospital.

Of the other students in the Fiesta, a 16-year-old boy remains in a life-threatening condition and another boy, 17, is said to be stable following surgery.

A woman and two children were travelling in the Fiat 500 and were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

'Feelings of loss'

The identities of those involved has not been formally confirmed and their school declined to name them to respect their families' privacy.

"The school is one part of a very close, caring and supportive community and I am acutely aware of how profound and far-reaching the feelings of loss and grief will be," Mr Sanderson wrote.

The school opened on Sunday for a couple of hours to support students and will also be arranging counsellors to be at the school on Monday.

Books of condolence would also be opened, Mr Sanderson wrote.

Meanwhile, St Edmunds Church in Shipston-on-Stour announced it would be open throughout the day for people to light a candle.

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