Three teenagers and a man in his 50s have been killed in a head-on collision between a car and a taxi, police say.

The drivers of both cars are among those who died, while five passengers were also injured in the crash, which happened at about 00:45 on Sunday on Wigan Road, Bolton.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the taxi driver was in a dark Citroen, while the three teenagers – aged between 18 and 19 – were in a red Seat.

The three teenagers have been named in local funeral notices as Muhammad Danyaal Asghar Ali, Farhan Patel and Mohammed Jibrael Mukhtar, all from Bolton. The taxi driver was named as Masrob Ali, from Blackburn.

Police have yet to formally identify the victims but are continuing to investigate what happened.

The force is asking for eyewitnesses or anyone who may have dashcam footage of the moments before and afterwards to come forward.

Neelam Khan, who lives with her family nearby, told BBC North West Tonight she had seen the aftermath of the crash on the road, “which was quite disturbing”.

Debris was “everywhere, which was quite scary”, she said.

Firefighters used cutting equipment to remove people from the car with five passengers taken to hospital for treatment.

GMP’s Ch Insp Helen McCormick described it as a “devastating incident”.

“This was a particularly challenging scene for colleagues in the emergency services and I want to thank the first responders.”

Mother-of-two Khan said other crashes had happened on the road, with drivers hitting cars parked on the sides.

“I don’t understand how people don’t learn from previous accidents and this is probably the worst one yet,” she said.

“It’s probably only going to get worse if nothing happens so maybe the police and council need to do something about it.”

The number of crashes meant she and her husband were considering moving to a quieter area, she added.

“This is why we park at the back of the house now because we just know there’s always going to be accidents on this road.”

McCormick said the collision was “a tragic reminder of the importance of safety on our roads”.

The number of serious and fatal collisions in Bolton had “massively reduced…but we’ve all got much more to do”, she added.

“One incident is one too many and they’ll do nothing to bring back the four lives lost here today.”

Councillor Ayyub Patel, who represents the local ward of Rumworth, told BBC Radio Manchester that the victims’ relatives were “devastated”.

“The community was waking up to this very sad news, they are shocked – the mood is sombre.

“Any loss of life in any family is devastating news and to wake up to such tragic news is more so than expected.

“If it’s expected, you know what’s coming but if it’s not expected, then obviously it’s a shocking experience.”