Three people have died after a car careered off the road and hit an electricity transformer before bursting into flames.

The accident occurred in the early hours of the morning on the Southend-bound carriageway of the A127 in Essex. No other vehicle was involved.

A spokesman for Essex Police said it was not known why the Ford Fiesta car left the road.

He said: "Identifying those killed in the crash is likely to take some time and it will not be possible to confirm their names until formal identification has taken place and next of kin informed."

"The A127 is likely to remain closed for most of the day while traffic investigators carry out a detailed search of the scene, and the electricity company restores power to a handful of houses which have lost power."

Eleven thousand volts are carried to the metal pole-mounted electricity transformer.

Traffic heading towards the coastal resort of Southend is being diverted through Rayleigh, said police.