Lake Annecy is popular with British tourists

Three British holidaymakers in France have been found dead in a car near Lake Annecy in the Alps.

A four-year-old girl was subsequently found unharmed in the car, while a fifth is being treated in hospital after being found critically injured at the road side, with all five believed to be from the same family.

A cyclist, said to be a local man, was found shot dead nearby.

The youngest girl was discovered eight hours after the first three casualties, apparently hiding under the bodies.

The British Foreign Office (FCO) is trying to establish the identities of the family.

French prosecutor Eric Maillaud said the girl was found hiding under the legs of one of the women at about midnight local time.

He told the BBC: “The little girl spoke English.

“She had heard the noises, the cries, but she could not say more - she is only four years old.”

The older girl, reported as aged seven, was taken by helicopter to hospital.

The bodies were found in a car park in a quiet, forested area. It has been sealed off by police as investigations into what is being described as a multiple murder continue.

Some 15 spent cartridges from an automatic pistol were found at the scene.