Hillary Clinton gains a 10-point lead over Donald Trump

Washington: US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has gained a 10-point lead over her Republican rival Donald Trump, who has attracted outrage over his comments about a Muslim Gold Star family, according to a new national poll.

Clinton leads Trump 49 per cent to 39 per cent in a head-to-head Fox News survey released on Wednesday. In a three-way race including Libertarian Gary Johnson, Clinton leads 44 per cent to 35 per cent, with Johnson claiming 12 per cent, CNN reported.

A CNN/ORC poll this week showed Clinton with a 9-point edge in a head-to-head matchup with Trump.

When Fox polled voters in late June -- before both conventions -- Clinton was up only six points, 44 per cent to 38 per cent.

Voters also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Trump after his comments on the Muslim family of a fallen US soldier.

Sixty-nine per cent of respondents familiar with the comments declared Trump`s criticism in response to the family`s speech against Trump at the Democratic convention "out of bounds", compared to 19 per cent who said it was "in bounds".

Republicans are about evenly split on the back-and-forth, with 41 per cent saying similarly while 40 per cent of Republicans saying Trump`s response is "in bounds".

Fox surveyed 1,022 registered voters from Sunday to Tuesday, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.