A man and a woman have been killed after a car left a road and crashed into a tree.

Police said the accident, which also left three passengers in hospital, happened on the B7024 High Maybole Road, Ayr around 2.30pm on Friday.

Ian Clark, 30, was driving the white Toyota Corolla when it appears he lost control as he approached a left hand bend.

Four passengers - two 16 year-old boys, a 22 year-old woman and a 34 year-old man - were also travelling in the car.

The vehicle left the road and hit a tree before coming to rest in a field.

Mr Clark and Shannan Rafferty, who was a rear seat passenger, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

One of the 16 year-olds was taken by Helimed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow where staff describe his condition as serious but stable.

The other teenager also sustained serious injuries and is in a stable condition in Crosshouse Hospital, KIlmarnock.

The 34 year-old man, who was a front seat passenger, is currently receiving treatment at Ayr Hospital and is also in a stable condition.

It is understood Mr Clark and Ms Rafferty, who lived in Girvan, are not related to each other or the injured passengers.

The road was closed for eight hours after the accident and only reopened at 11.30pm on Friday.

Sergeant Nicola Taylor, of the Divisional Road Policing Unit in Ayrshire, is appealing for witnesses to the crash.

She said: "I would ask that anyone who was driving either on High Maybole Road, or in the immediate vicinity, who might have seen the car prior to the crash to contact police.

"A report on the deaths will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Divisional Road Policing Unit at Ayr Police Office via 101 quoting reference number 1867/20/10/17.