Two people have been killed in a head-on collision between a taxi and a car travelling in the wrong direction on a dual carriageway.

The collision happened at Witch’s Hat Junction near Dagenham, shortly after police were alerted to a vehicle driving west on the eastbound A13 in the early hours of Monday morning.

Both the driver of the car, a woman in her 70s, and the taxi driver, a man in his 40s, died as a result of their injuries.

The Metropolitan Police and London Ambulance Service both attended the scene.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Police were called to the Witch’s Hat junction of the A13 in Dagenham at 1.45am on Monday, December 31, to reports of a car travelling the wrong way down the carriageway.

“Shortly afterwards, the car was involved in a collision with a taxi heading in the opposite direction.

“Next of kin have not been informed.”