A 17-YEAR-OLD girl died yesterday after she was hit by a car when it mounted a pavement.

Roddy Ashworth

A 17-YEAR-OLD girl died yesterday after she was hit by a car when it mounted a pavement.

A verge close to the scene of the tragedy was yesterday awash with flowers and messages from friends of the dead girl who was yesterday named locally as Charlotte Blackburn.

A group of young people kept a vigil near the remembrance site throughout the day, many of whom were visibly upset.

One of the tributes left said: “To Charlotte - gone but not forgotten. Our loss is heaven's gain.

“Lots of love, Jack, Jordan, Kisussis and Joe.”

Another read: “You meant a lot to so many people. You are going to be missed a lot.

“We will never forget you. Ami, Cat and Bev.”

The collision happened at around 1.05am on Main Road, Harwich, close to its junction with Gwynne Road, when a silver car being driven in the Colchester direction left the road and collided with the teenager.

The car then apparently careered back across the road and smashed into a house on the other side, causing serious damage.

The owner of the property, who was upstairs in bed at the time of the crash, declined to comment yesterday.

An 18-year-old man was also hit by the vehicle but suffered only minor injuries. He was checked over by paramedics at the scene and did not require hospital treatment.

Yesterday, Lesley Limoi paid tribute to her friend, believed to have been a pupil at Harwich School, on the social networking site Facebook, saying: “Charlotte Blackburn, she was special to all her friends, she was a happy and a funny girl, she cared about all her friends and we all love you.

“People who didn't know Charlotte like us, she would never let you down and was always making us laugh.

“She was the one person you could speak to when you had a problem.

“I will miss you so much and I love you. R.I.P Charlotte I am so lucky to have met you. I love you.”

- Two 20-year-old men from the Harwich area have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and are currently in police custody.