Couple killed in NZ car tragedy

A former Stourbridge couple, who had travelled to New Zealand to start a new life, have been killed in a car crash.

Jonathan Hale and partner Jody Butler, formerly of Belle Vue, Wordsley, moved to New Zealand in September.

The couple, both aged 31, were on a charity motorbike ride on Saturday when they were hit by a camper van, killing them both.

A man and his daughter were also killed in the tragedy.

Mr Hale is a former design and technology teacher at Haybridge High School in Hagley. He was today described by his distraught mother Joy, who lives in Wombourne, as being a "loving son."

Fighting tears, she said: "It just doesn't seem real. He was the most loving son a mother could hope for."

The families of the two are now waiting for the bodies to be flown back before funeral arrangements can be made.