A car is believed to have travelled the wrong way down the A1 before a crash which killed three men near Stamford, police have said.

The three-vehicle crash, involving a blue VW Golf, a black BMW 520D and a red Land Rover Discovery, happened just before 1am on Sunday (January 16) on the A1 northbound near Wothorpe.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Constabulary said: “It is believed the VW Golf had been travelling the wrong way down the carriageway for unknown reasons.”

Police have named the three who died as BMW driver Adil Hussain, 25, and his front seat passenger 39-year-old Mohammed Riyajudin, both from Manchester, and Volkswagen Golf driver Craig Hewitt, aged 34 from Bedford.

In tribute to Craig, his family said: "He was a loving father, son, brother and friend to many.

We’ll keep the red flag flying high.”

Two other men also received serious injuries and remain in hospital.

Police are appealing for witnesses, dashcam footage or anyone who saw the vehicles in the moments leading up to the incident.

Anyone who witnessed the collision should contact police quoting incident 24 of January 16.