Community 'shocked' over tragedy

Flowers and tributes have been placed at the scene of the crash

A Cornish priest says the deaths of three young men in a car crash have rocked the local community.

Ricky Weller, 18, and Simon Bunt, 20, who were both from St Germans, and 18-year-old Sean Rice, from nearby Polbathic, were killed in the accident.

It happened when a Renault Clio was in collision with a Land Rover on the A374 on Wednesday night.

Priest for St Germans, the Reverend Alec Johnston, said it was going to be hard to come to terms with the tragedy.

"The village of St Germans tends to be, on the whole, for elderly people, so young people are hugely significant," he said.

Sean Rice was a Saltash Community School student

"They stand out as the promise of the future and to have three of them snatched away like this is difficult to deal with."

Mr Rice, who was the driver of the Clio, and one of his passengers, Mr Bunt, died at the scene, which was one mile from the Trerulefoot roundabout.

Mr Weller, who was another passenger in the Clio, died at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth on Thursday night after failing to recover from his injuries.

The two occupants of the Land Rover suffered minor injuries.

Family, friends and school teachers paid tribute to those who died.

Mr Rice's mother, Janet Page, said he was a loving son who would be sadly missed by all his family and friends.

Trained counsellors

She said he had a sunny disposition, and the "ability to light up people's lives".

Mrs Page said he had had everything to look forward to, loved life, and lived it to the full.

Mr Rice was an A-level student at Saltash Community School, and Mr Weller a former student.

Head teacher Isobel Bryce said trained counsellors were helping pupils with their loss.

"It made it particularly difficult that Ricky was in intensive care and we hoped very much that he would pull through and we are very sad to hear the news about him.

"We are doing all we can to support the young people and the staff at the school in coming to terms with the tragedy."