Police have released the names of the three teenagers killed in a crash near Leeston, Canterbury in the early hours of yesterday morning.

They were Lily Frances Moore, Samuel James Drost, and Cole Troy Hull.

All were 15 years old.

A member of the public called emergency services after coming across the car that had rolled near the corner of Harts Road and Southbridge's Sedgemere Road.

Two 14-year-old boys survived.

One was the driver who remains in hospital, the other has been discharged with minor injuries.

Road Policing Manager Al Stewart said the community has taken the news hard.

"It's the worst nightmare for families and at the end of the day three young people have been taken from their families far too early.

"Their friends and their community will feel the loss forever and the tragedy here is that it was preventable."

Police say speed was the main factor in the crash.

The driver was unlicensed, and hardly anyone in the car was wearing a seat belt - and police say that's a reason the fatality rate was so high.

The Serious Crash Unit is investigating.