The husband of road accident victim Amanda Hyett marked what would have been the couple's 19th wedding anniversary on Monday by paying tribute to the women whose funeral filled St Mary's Church.

Mrs Hyett, of Foley Road, Newent, died on October 20, following an accident near Kilcot. She was just 37.

Her husband, Leslie, said he was overwhelmed by the support of the community before, during and after the funeral, which took place on Thursday, October 30.

The funeral featured a Victorian hearse drawn by two horses with white plumes.

It was the send-off that Amanda herself had planned in a number of light-hearted discussions with friends over the years.

Mr Hyett said: "Newent hadn't seen anything like it. There were more than 400 names taken at the funeral and they didn't take them all.

"I would like to say thank you to the community for this support. I've had 90 cards, they just haven't stopped coming.

"I was always proud of my wife. I'm even more proud now."

Mrs Hyett's closest friend for 21 years, Kay Gough, said she had also received 80 cards of sympathy.

She said: "Amanda was so special and so many people were touched by her life."

Discussing Amanda's life, Mr Hyett and Mrs Gough remembered a gentle perfectionist whose passion was the colour white, her home, garden, job and friends.

Just before her death, Mrs Hyett had kept to her tradition of buying Christmas presents early.

Mr Hyett said: "They are all upstairs, bought and tagged for family and friends. She lived to give, and she did give.

"She used to buy presents for all the staff at work at the Beefeater Restaurant, in Ross, and she never forgot birthdays."

Mrs Hyett was the deputy manager of the restaurant and, although she loved being at home, she would not hesitate to go in if called up on her days off.

She was on her way to work when she was involved in the collision. Mrs Hyett was driving her "dream car", a Toyota MR2, which she had only had for five weeks.

n A 32-year-old man arrested after the road accident on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving is currently on police bail pending further inquiries.