A HEREFORDSHIRE primary school has paid tribute to a former deputy headteacher who was tragically killed in a crash.

Ledbury Primary School said that it remembered its kind and gentle deputy headteacher Jill Evans, four years after her death.

The school said she was an inspirational teacher and a friend to all in the 19 years she had worked there.

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After Mrs Evans' death, Ledbury Primary School held a special assembly called "A Hug for Mrs Evans", to remember all the things they loved about the popular deputy head.

The school also dedicated a revamped library in her memory, and a main gate, where she used to stand at the beginning and end of the school day, was also named Mrs Evans' Gate, marked with a plaque.

The wooden plaque on the gate at Ledbury Primary School, in memory of former deputy headteach er Jill Evans

The wooden plaque on the gate at Ledbury Primary School, in memory of former deputy headteach er Jill Evans

She was a passenger in the back of her daughter's white Volkswagen Golf, travelling in Oxfordshire when the fatal two-car crash happened on January 26, 2019.

The popular teacher, 58 and of Walwyn Road in Colwall, was in the car with her grandson and husband when it was hit just after 9.15am by a black Mini Cooper driven by Ben Folley, who was also killed.

An inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court later that same year heard how Mr Folley, a 21-year-old labourer from Chinnor, was out driving to get his mum a birthday card, later found in the footwell, when he crashed.

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Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter described how Mr Folley lost control on a bend and veered to the other side of the 60mph road, into the path of the oncoming VW Golf.

Forensic collision investigator James Henderson said further examination found that the tyre was "severely underinflated" at the time of the crash, and was likely to have been driven in that condition for "a significant distance".

But Mr Folley's father said in court that his wife, an experienced driver, had driven the car in the days before the crash and had not noticed any issues with the tyre pressure.

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The cause of death for both crash victims was multiple injuries caused by a road traffic collision.

At the time, headteacher Julie Rees said: "Jill had been with the school since 2000. She joked that she came as a supply teacher and ended up staying forever.

"She was a fabulous, wonderful teacher and friend. She had a great sense of humour, but she was never flamboyant; she was kind, with a wonderful way with people, and she was always so well organised.

"Her death is an absolutely huge loss to me, personally."