A group of boys was reportedly fighting outside a west London petrol station moments before a car ploughed into them, killing three.

Metropolitan Police said the were standing near a bus stop in Hayes, west London, when a black Audi crashed into them on Friday night.

Police said they were called to the scene in on Shepiston Lane at 8.41pm but despite the efforts of officers and paramedics three boys were pronounced dead at the scene.

Staff at the nearby garage said a group of teenagers had been fighting at the entrance to the forecourt a few moments before the smash.

The victims have yet to be formally identified, but are believed to be approximately 16 years old.

A 28-year-old man who was inside the Audi has been arrested and was taken to a west London hospital for treatment, and he is expected to be taken into custody once discharged.

Family members came to lay flowers at the site of the crash on Saturday morning.

The mother of one of the victims left a card to "my darling baby boi" which said "My heart is broken".

Another said "To my bro. Always together forever."

A cashier at the garage opposite said police had come to inspect CCTV footage of the brawl, but said he did not know if it was related to the crash.

"The police haven't told us anything," he said.

He said teenagers didn't usually hang around in the area, which is just next to the M4, junction 4.

A number of other teenagers standing with the group at the bus stop at the time of the incident were unharmed in the crash.

Police have made an urgent appeal for witnesses.

"These are horrific circumstances that have resulted in three young people losing their lives; I need anyone who saw what happened to contact police immediately," Detective Jane Shaw from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit.

"Did you see this Audi before the collision, or in the moments leading it up to it? I would urge you to speak to us to assist us with our investigation."

The Metropolitan Police's Roads and Transport Policing Command is investigating the incident, but say it is not terror related.