Three people died in the crash on the A27 near Worthing

In the worst incident, two men and a woman were killed in a pile-up on the A27 at Salvington, near Worthing.

Three male drivers died in three other accidents in Slinfold, Groombridge and Brighton. Several people are in hospital with serious injuries.

Police said alcohol is likely to have played a part in at least two crashes.

Assistant chief constable of Sussex, Tony Toynton, said: "Losing a loved one as a result of a road crash is terrible at any time - but when it happens two days before Christmas that must be doubly difficult."

We want people to have a great Christmas but our urgent message is not to drive if you have already had a drink ACC Tony Toynton

The A27 accident, involving two cars and a van, happened just before midnight on Thursday near the Horse and Groom public house.

A 37-year-old man from Billingshurst, a 38-year-old Worthing woman and a 39-year-old Dorset man, who were all in one car, were pronounced dead at the scene.

A man in the other car was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Intensive care

The van driver suffered minor injuries and is in police custody.

At Groombridge, three cars were involved in a collision on the B2110 Withyham Road.

One of the drivers, a 52-year-old man from Langton Green, Kent died from his injuries in hospital and another is in intensive care.

The third driver, who was uninjured, is assisting police with their inquiries.

'Disappointing' results

A 31-year-old driver from Littlehampton died in the head-on collision on the A29 at Slinfold and his woman passenger, also 31, is in hospital with serious injuries.

In Ditchling Road, Brighton, a male driver from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire died when his car hit a tree.

Earlier this week, Sussex Police said it was "disappointed" with the results of its Christmas anti drink-drive campaign.

Up to 18 December, 65 drivers were arrested after positive breath tests and six more for being unfit through drugs.