A Bradford family has been torn apart by an horrific car crash which killed the parents of six children.

Islam Akram, 28, his wife Shamim Akhtar, 28, and his sister Tasleem Akhtar, 27, died instantly when their car was in a head-on collision with a truck which crashed through the central reservation of the M1.

The smash happened as they were travelling back to Bradford from the family funeral of a 14-year-old who had died from leukaemia.

The truck struck a parked lorry on the hard shoulder of the southbound carriageway and was sent careering through the central reservation to collide with the Seat car driven by Islam.

A 47-year-old man from Luton has been arrested by police on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He has been released on police bail pending enquiries and is to face further questioning in the new year.

The incident happened at 4.20am on Thursday near the Watford Gap service station in Northamptonshire.

Islam and Shamim, of Horton Park Avenue, Great Horton, leave behind three children, seven-year-old Umar, Usman, 5, and Adam who is just five months old.

Mother-of-three Tasleem, who also lived in Great Horton, leaves behind a boy and two girls: four-year-old Hamza Zara, 6, and one-year-old Zenab.

Their family said they had been stunned by the tragedy.

Saghil Iqbal, 35, the brother of Islam and Tasleem said: "When my brother left it was to go to a funeral and it was a sad time anyway but this has hit us out of the blue."

He said Islam, Tasleem and Shamim were loving parents who the family had relied on.

Islam had held down two jobs, one at Grattans warehouse and another as a take-away delivery driver, to support his three children.

His cousin Zameer Akhtar said: "Islam was the most hard working person you could ever meet. He had two jobs but he was never tired, he would always have time to speak to you.

"He was fantastic with his children. They are three bouncy, healthy boys who had everything a child could want.

"This was the reason he had two jobs so he could provide for them."

Shamim had moved to Bradford seven years ago from Pakistan to marry Islam.

Mr Akhtar said she had settled in well with the family in Bradford because she had been so friendly and chatty.

The family also paid tribute to Tasleem Akhtar, who was the youngest of seven children who grew up together in Bradford.

Mr Iqbal said: "She was our baby sister and she was always the cheery one, the one who would lift everyone else up and her children were 100 per cent reliant on her."

Mr Iqbal's family were left devastated by the death of his mother from a brain tumour six years ago.

And he said his sister Tasleem had been vital in helping the family overcome this tragedy.

He said: "It took six years for us to get over what happened to my mother and now this has happened and it will be with us for the rest of our lives. This has collapsed us.

"We have six children to bring up, who the family will look after."

Scores of relatives, friends and well wishers gathered at their Great Horton home this weekend.

But the family now face an anxious wait for their loved ones' bodies to be released by the authorities to allow them to hold funerals.

Zameer Akhtar said: "As Muslims it is important that we have the funeral as soon as we can to allow them to reach their final resting place. It is our final duty for them.

"This is our main concern now because the wait is causing tension. We need to have the funeral before we can move on."

The family plan to hold the funerals in Bradford.

However, the bodies have not yet been released by police in Northamptonshire, who are still yet to officially identify the victims.

It is the second time the family has been devastated by a fatal car crash in just over a year.

In October 2004, 15-year-old Amar Ali was killed by a car being driven by banned motorist Amir Khan in White Abbey Road in Bradford.

Amar's father Riasat Ali, who discovered his son on the road, is the cousin of Islam and Tasleem.

Khan was later jailed for six years for the offence at Bradford Crown Court.