A 15-year-old boy was orphaned after seeing his parents and his nine-year-old brother killed in an horrific minibus crash which also claimed the life of a North-East woman.

Last night, she was named as Doreen Sommerville, 43, from Sunderland. Her partner, 39-year-old Ian Jobson, was released after being treated in hospital.

Mrs Sommerville, a mother-of-two, was heading off on a dream holiday with Mr Jobson.

Tragically, even at 8.30 on Thursday night, the victim's elderly mother was unaware her daughter had been killed in the accident on the way to Manchester Airport and was telling friends at a local bingo hall that she would be in Mexico enjoying herself.

A neighbour told how, after the holiday, the divorcee and Mr Jobson were planning to set up home together after selling their individual homes.

Last night, Mrs Sommerville's house on the Wear View Estate, stood in darkness with a ''House Sold'' sign in the garden.

Neighbour Elizabeth Burnsaid: ''It's tragic she had to die in such a way when she was so happy about the future."

The unnamed orphaned 15-year-old boy, from Ledbury in Herefordshire, was among eight holidaymakers who survived the accident on the M56 in Greater Manchester on Thursday.

But his parents, aged 46 and 47, and his younger brother were among the seven people in the minibus who died.

All four had been on their way to the airport to go on their summer holidays when the minibus collided with a car and crashed into the central reservation.

Duncan Boniface, 47, from Dunfermline, also died in the crash. His wife, Gillian, 41, last night remained critically ill in hospital and the couple's daughter, Ami, 14, was said to be serious but stable.

The family of minibus driver Robert Taylor, 42, of Stretford, Greater Manchester, said they had been "absolutely devastated" at the loss of a "fun-loving husband, father, grandfather and friend".