The road crash that killed three serving soldiers has left the surrounding community ‘stunned and saddened’.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the three men were soldiers with 14th Signal Regiment based at Cawdor barracks.

"The families of all three soldiers have been informed and have asked for a period of grace before further details are released," the spokesman said.

It is not yet clear when the accident happened but it is thought the bodies remained undiscovered for several hours.

The men, believed to be in their 20s, were travelling in a silver Skoda Fabia on the A487 between Newgale and Haverfordwest when the car collided with a hedge and nearby wall.

The vehicle was discovered at around 8am on Sunday morning by Anthony Thomas, landlord of the nearby Victoria Inn pub.

He told the Western Telegraph: "We thought we might have heard a bang from inside the pub," he said.

"My wife then came out this morning (Sunday) about half past seven and she just saw a hole in the wall. So she went down the lay-by, turned around and came and got me.

"I went straight over there and could see it was a bad crash."

Mr Thomas then immediately informed emergency services and the road was closed for eight hours as police investigated the scene.

Councillor Jamie Adams said the incident had ‘stunned and saddened’ the local community: "It fills me with sadness" he said.

"There is such a sense of disbelief. Firstly, that this could take place in a village where cars are limited to 40 mph and also that nobody knew about it."

Cllr Adams added that although he didn’t want to draw any premature conclusions, the incident underlined the need to take care when driving in the village.

Speaking at the scene of the crash on Sunday, Chief Inspector Mark Bleasdale said he offered his ‘deepest sympathies’ to the families of the deceased.

He added that police were eager to speak to motorists who had travelled along the road between 7pm on Saturday and 8am on Sunday morning. Anyone with information can contact Haverfordwest Policing Unit on 0845 330 2000.