Briton killed in quad bike crash

A British tourist has died in a quad bike crash in New Zealand, the Foreign Office has said.

Sarah Bond, from Essex, lost control of the bike near Waitomo on the country's North Island and it plunged down a steep bank at about 1200 local time.

The 24-year-old, who was travelling alone, had been taking part in an organised quad bike tour near Te Anga, police said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said Miss Bond's family had been informed.

New Zealand's Department of Labour Investigators and the Waikato Serious Crash Unit are investigating the crash.

'Trip of lifetime'

"Miss Bond is believed to have died as a result of her losing control of a quad bike she was riding which plunged down a bank in steep terrain about 2km from Te Anga," a spokesman for New Zealand police said.

Miss Bond, from Ilford, had been due to stay in New Zealand until 28 November.

Her next door neighbour, Joyce Medley, said she was devastated and had known Miss Bond since she was a baby.

"It was only 10 days ago that she held a leaving party before flying out to New Zealand," Mrs Medley said.

"She was a lovely, self-confident girl, she would do anything and she had decided to travel on her own, it was a very brave thing to do.

"Sarah had taken on two jobs, one in a bank and one at a pub so she could save up for what she had described as a trip of a lifetime."