A community was in mourning last night after three young men from the Levenmouth area of Fife were killed in a road crash.

A community was in mourning last night after three young men died in a road crash. Peter Reilly, 21, and 16-year-olds Brian Wight and Christopher Mallin, all from the Levenmouth area of Fife, were killed when their car veered across the Kirkcaldy-Leven road and hit a tree on Tuesday night.

In a separate crash, a 20-year-old man died after his car was in collision the back of a police car dealing with another accident in Argyll. The tragedy in Fife mirrors another fatal crash in the area less than three years ago, when three teenage youths were killed on the Kennoway-Craigrothie road.

Fife Constabulary roads inspector John McDonald said: "Three young lives have literally been lost in a second and our deepest sympathy goes out to the families and their communities.

"This is a stark reminder that there is much work still to do - particularly in targeting the most vulnerable motorists - young men."

Mr Reilly, of Shore Street, Buckhaven, was driving Brian Wight, of Linnwood Drive, Leven, and Christopher Mallin, who lived at Hill Road in Kennoway, in a silver Vauxhall Vectra when the crash happened at 10.15pm on the Standing Stane Road.

A Ford Mondeo also left the road but the woman driver and male passengers were not injured.

The deaths came as figures from Fife Council revealed a rise in road accident deaths in the area. Last year 210 people were killed or seriously injured on Fife's roads, compared with 187 in 2005. There was a rise in the number of children killed or seriously injured, from 23 in 2005 to 29 in 2006.

Councillor Andrew Keddie, chairman of the community safety committee, said: "The fact we have seen rises in the number of people killed or seriously injured just goes to show there is always more to be done and improvements to be made. The sad loss of three people on the A915 on Tuesday night is a sobering reminder of the very tragic human story behind these statistics. Our thoughts are with their families at this terrible time."

The crash in 2004 happened when a 26-year-old uninsured driver hit a tree after she swerved to avoid a rabbit. Kyle Rettie, 17, Thomas McKinlay, 17, and Raymond Murray, 18, were killed. The driver and another passenger, who was injured, survived. Dianne Ferreira, of the road safety charity Brake, said: "It's too early to say what caused this latest crash but a disproportionately high number of young drivers are dying every day on our roads."

Brake is campaigning for the introduction of a graduated driver licensing scheme to give learner drivers the chance to develop their skills and experience in stages.

The charity also wants the government to introduce road-safety education as a compulsory part of the national curriculum.

In the Argyll accident, Alisdair MacDougall, of Tarbert, lost control of his vehicle, which spun off the road into the patrol car which was parked in a lay-by.

He died at the scene. His 17-year-old passenger is in a serious condition in hospital.

The crash took place on the A83 in Argyll on Tuesday night as police helped a motorist and passenger who had been involved in a minor accident two miles south of Stronach-ullin Lodge.

The two women involved in the previous road crash were taken to hospital in Lochgilphead, where they were treated for minor injuries.

The two police officers were not injured.