Two children, two men and a woman have been killed in a major crash on the M6, while a third child remains in hospital with serious injuries.
Emergency services were called to the scene of the fatal collision between a Skoda and a Toyota near Tebay Services at 4.04pm on Tuesday evening.
The driver of the Skoda, a man from Cambridgeshire, was pronounced dead at the scene, while another man, the driver of the Toyota, was also pronounced dead.
Three passengers inside the Toyota, a woman and two children from Glasgow, were also declared dead at the scene, while the third child was rushed to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
The families of those involved have been informed and are being supported.
The M6 Northbound remained closed overnight but reopened during the early hours of the morning.
Anyone with information relating to this incident can report online quoting incident number 146 of 15 October 2024.
More follows on this breaking news story