A 24-year-old man has died after two cars crashed at a busy junction.

The incident happened shortly before 11.30pm last night when an Audi S3 and a BMW M135i collided at the intersection of St Helens Road and Plodder Lane near Four Lane Ends.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and fire crews had to cut one man from a vehicle.

The 24-year old passenger from the BMW, reported to be from the Somali community, was taken to Salford Royal Hospital with serious injuries but later died.

Three other people were also treated for minor injuries at hospital.

Following the man's death, tributes have been led by the Bolton Council of Mosques (BCOM).

Imtaz Ali, BCOM secretary, said: "This must be a tragic loss for the family.

"It is always difficult to lose a loved one, and to lose someone in these types of circumstances can sometimes be more painful.

"On behalf of our organisation, our prayers and thoughts are with them.

"At Bolton Council of Mosques we have a counselling service and if there is anything we can do to assist the family we are happy to help in any way we can."

Two men, aged 23 and 27, have been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving following the crash, and remain in custody for questioning.

Police are appealing for anyone with information or dashcam footage to come forward.

They are also keen to speak with the driver of a light-coloured vehicle that was travelling down St Helens Road and turned left into Plodder lane immediately after the crash.

Sergeant Brian Orr, of GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “A man has sadly lost his life as a result of this collision. Our thoughts remain with his family at this very sad time.

“St Helens Road was closed for several hours last night whilst investigative work was carried out at the scene. Whilst the road has since reopened, our enquiries are still ongoing.

“I would encourage any witnesses, or anyone with dashcam footage to please get in touch as soon as possible.”

Last night, fire crews were on the scene for around 50 minutes. Both vehicles involved are said to be "write offs", a fire service spokesman reported.

Anyone with information should call GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4741 or 101 quoting incident number 3266 of 09/09/2019, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.