A MAN and woman aged in their 80s have been killed in a horror crash on the A37.

Their car burst into flames after it collided with an articulated lorry at Holywell Cross, near Evershot.

Passers-by made heroic efforts to free the occupants from their Honda Jazz car but were beaten back by the flames.

The blaze was eventually extinguished but too late to save the couple's lives.

Police confirmed today the people who died were a man and woman who lived local to the area. This followed earlier reports from police that two women died in the crash.

The collision caused the lorry to go onto its side and spill its cargo on the carriageway.

The driver of the lorry, a man aged 44 from Taunton, was rushed to Yeovil Hospital for treatment to serious but not life-threatening injuries.

The road was closed for six hours following the crash just after 4pm on Friday and police diverted traffic through Cattistock, Sydling St Nicholas and Maiden Newton while the nearby A356 was also closed at Grimstone.

Reacting to news of the double fatality, local people have called for safety improvements on the A37.

The stretch of road was previously dubbed ‘Death Valley’ following a spate of fatal accidents.

Local residents and Evershot Parish Council campaigned vociferously for road improvements and enlisted the support of West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin. Despite some improvement works many believe that much more needs to be done to reduce the number of accidents.

Dave Bland, who referees clay pigeon shooting matches at Evershot, passed by the accident on his way to the area from Gloucestershire.

Mr Bland, 55, who also works as an advanced driving instructor, said: “It looked like a bad crash.

“There was one small car, similar to a Ford Ka, off the side of the road and an eight-wheeled lorry was at the scene too.

“There was debris all over the road and the emergency services were trying to cut the women from the car.

“I was diverted by traffic officers away from the scene.”

Mr Bland, who has been coming to the area to referee shooting matches for five years, added: “It is a bit of a rat run and a notorious stretch of road.

“I don’t know what the answer to the problem is.

“I’m not saying this is the case here, but I think people do drive down the road in a way that is beyond their capabilities.”

The landlady of the Rest and Welcome Inn at Melbury Osmond, Jill Scott, said people ‘hack’ their way along the route.

She added: “I’ve been here since last July and that road is a nightmare.

“I’ve seen lorries overtaking each other outside this pub and I’ve seen people driving by in six inches of snow, using their mobile phones.

“It’s a very quick road and a lot of customers come in saying they’ve had near misses or they’ve been beeped while turning off the road.”

She added that reducing speed limits and installing speed cameras in the area may help slow traffic down.

The county councillor for Three Valleys, John Peake, said the A37 has improved in recent years but will need further improvement if it is to become an ‘important north/south route.’ He said: “If we at the council are trying to build this up as an important north/south route, then we need to make every effort to ensure it is safe.

“These kinds of accidents are often down to driver error, which is always very sad, but there is obviously no way of knowing what caused this crash.”