Thousands raised in hours for teenagers killed in Warwickshire crash

Tributes to the three students who attended Chipping Campden School have poured in

Thousands of pounds has been raised following the deaths of three teenagers in a car crash.

The Chipping Campden School students had been travelling home together when the collision happened in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, on Friday.

Harry Purcell, 17, and Matilda Seccombe, 16, died in hospital a short time later. Frank Wormald, 16, died on Sunday. A fourth boy is in hospital.

Nearly £45,000 had been donated within 14 hours of the fundraiser launching.

Bouquets of flowers were left by mourners in the school grounds

The fourth person in the car, named by the school's principal as Edward Spencer, 17, remains in a stable condition, Warwickshire Police have said.

The online fundraiser has been launched by a friend and former student at the Gloucestershire school the teenagers attended. Classmates plan to run the Oxford Half Marathon on 15 October in honour of the crash victims.

The teenagers' Ford Fiesta was in collision with a Fiat 500

Proceeds from the charity challenge will be donated to the Midlands Air Ambulance service.

The fundraiser said: "Us three teenagers will do everything we can to help this service save as many lives as possible so close communities like ours don't have to suffer with loss."

Emma Wood, head of fundraising and engagement at the air ambulance charity, said the response has been "really heart-warming".

She added: "It is so incredibly kind of them to think of us at this difficult and sad time, we'd like to thank them for their support of our service."

Friends of the teenagers have paid tribute to them on the fundraising page.

"Harry always told me to keep on running so that is what we're doing, I will miss him so much, I loved him with my whole heart," one of the participants said.

Paying tribute to Frank Wormald, a family friend remembered his "cheeky but always respectful" demeanour.

In a letter to parents, school principal John Sanderson said the school flag would fly at half mast.

"There are no words that I can find to express the sense of loss that we feel," he said.

The four teenagers had been travelling home from school in a Ford Fiesta when they were involved in a collision with a Fiat 500 on the B4035 Campden Road at about 16:10 BST.

Candles were lit at a nearby church in memory of the pupils

The occupants of the Fiat 500, a woman and two children, were taken to hospital with serious injuries, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

They remain in hospital in a stable condition, Warwickshire Police added.

Officers said they were pursuing a number of lines of inquiry into the cause of the crash and urged witnesses to come forward.

"Specialist officers are carrying out a detailed investigation to piece together the circumstances of the collision, and we are working with our partner agencies and the local authority," said Insp Michael Huntley.