TRIBUTES have been paid to a grandmother who was killed in a car crash.

Heather Thornes, 68, of Malton, died in an accident on the A1079 at

Dunnington, near York, on Monday, July 2, while on a trip with the gardening group Derwent Diggers.

Susan Hankey, 71, from Malton, also died at the scene.

The driver and front seat passenger of the Nissan Qashqai they were travelling in were taken to Leeds General Infirmary with serious injuries.

Heather's husband Gordon Malan said: “Heather was a very keen gardener and two months after moving into our new home, she had established her garden, a vegetable patch and she was often seen pottering away in her greenhouse.

“She loved gardening, and it was on a trip to a garden south of York with the Derwent Diggers that the unfortunate accident occurred.”

He added: “Heather was very proud to be a grandmother and was always thinking of little treats to buy them.

“It almost goes without the need to say it; Heather demonstrated her love for her daughter Joanna and son Jonathan in many ways, keeping in frequent touch and helping them get established.”

Heather was born in Driffield and read biochemistry at Reading University before taking up her first job at Scarborough Hospital’s clinical pathology department.

After a few years, she moved to North Tees Hospital as a consultant biochemist, while also completing a business management degree.

She met Gordon in 1984 and the couple lived near Yarm for a few years until after Heather’s retirement. However, it was always her intention to return to live near her family in Yorkshire. After 10 years in Thorpe Bassett, they moved to Rillington and then Malton where they were building their own home.

Gordon said: “When she retired, Heather took up the saxophone and when we moved to Yorkshire she was a founder-member of the

Buckrose Concert Band, in which she played the baritone saxophone.

“Latterly, thinking ahead, as usual, as the baritone saxophone was becoming too heavy to hold in its harness around her neck and shoulders, she took up the clarinet, with which she was apparently making good progress. A more recent project was learning to swim with the crawl, and to be able to swim when out of her depth – in which she succeeded in only 12 weeks.”

Gordon added: “Heather was an active person, always with several projects on the go, or thinking about what would be her next project.

"Heather is sorely missed by myself, children Joanna and Jonathan, grandchildren Nina and Edith, and brother David Warters, and her many other family members and friends.”

Heather’s funeral took place today, Thursday, at the East Riding Crematorium.