FRIENDS and family will gather next week to mourn the North-East woman killed in a car crash in Australia.

Former model Nina Smith, from Blyth, Northumberland, died instantly when the Nissan Pajero she was travelling in crashed on the remote Barkly Highway, in the Northern Territory, on Monday, March 3.

Her boyfriend, Paul Bainbridge, 28, of Sunderland, suffered spinal injuries in the crash. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

The couple had saved for their round-the-world holiday of a lifetime and were not expected back in the region until June. They had already visited South America and the USA.

The funeral service takes place in St George's Church, Cullercoats, North Tyneside, on Tuesday, at 1.15pm, followed by cremation at Whitley Bay Crematorium at 2.30pm.

Donations can be made in Nina's memory, to Wildlife in Need, Chatton NE66 5PX.