Four people have been killed in a horror crash after a UK-registered car careered of a road and smashed into some trees in central Germany.

A man and three women - thought to be two married couples - died when the driver failed to navigate a left-hand bend in northern Hesse.

He slammed his brakes on but was unable to prevent the black saloon leaving the road and crashing through trees before coming to a stop, nearly 30 metres off the road.

The 32-year-old driver and his passengers – aged 30, 31 and 32 – died at the scene of the accident on the L3229 road between Reinhardshagen-Veckerhagen and Grebensteinin.

German police believe they were two married couples, local media reports. The group didn't live in Germany and their nationalities are under investigation.