Emma OutlawLoving tributes have been paid to 16-year-old Emma Outlaw who died as she walked home during the early hours of Saturday after celebrating leaving Malmesbury School.

She was killed after being hit by a red Ford Transit van on the A429 road between Malmesbury and Corston at about 4.30am.

Emma had been living with her grandparents Ken and Eunice Outlaw on Knockdown Road in Sherston, for the last 18 months and her death has left them devastated.

Mrs Outlaw, 60, said " Emma was a beautiful, feisty, headstrong girl who was very popular and lived life to the full. She was a lot like me at that age. She loved her music and had loads of friends.

"She had just left school and wanted to get a job as quick as she could. She wanted to get a moped and couldn't wait to get her driving licence. She didn't like school but she liked the socialising element of it and we never had any problems getting her there."

Only last month Emma's cousin Vanessa suffered tragedy when a blaze ripped through their home in Corston, leaving them to live in a caravan, and it is thought Emma was walking back to stay with her.

Emma's father, Mark, died in 1991 and she was then brought up by her aunt Sarah in Wolverhampton.

She would regularly visit her grandparents during the holidays and Mrs Outlaw said she decided to live with them because she loved the friendly people in Sherston in contrast to Wolverhampton.

Mrs Outlaw said: " Emma found the people in Sherston very friendly and she loved it here. She had loads of friends. She found the people in Wolverhamton aggressive. Emma was a lot happier here and was involved with Malmesbury Youth Club. She had been counting the days to leaving school and was a cock-a-hoop on Friday evening. She said goodbye Gran and Grandad and we parted on good terms. The whole family is now devastated."

Mrs Outlaw added: "She was the life and soul of any party. When the music was on she'd be up dancing. She was just a typical fun-loving teenager.

Mr Outlaw said Emma. had previously worked as a waitress in the Carpenters Arms pub in Sherston and the restaurant at Westonbirt Arboretum. He said: "Her death is devastating, It just hasn't sunk in yet. We've all had our tears but it doesn't seem true. I think she was that popular I don't think the church will be big enough for her funeral."

Nikki Holder, 16, from the Knockdown Road, Sherston, attended Malmesbury school with Emma and was her best friend.

Nikki said: "It is a real shock. She will be dearly missed. I have known her since she was three years old and she was a great laugh and very funny. Her death hasn't sunk in.

"She was one of my best friends and we used to go shopping together. Emma was a very caring person and a good listener. She was a very outgoing person and very straight."

Julie Smith, who runs the Carpenter's Arms Pub in Sherston with her husband Paul, said Emma worked for them for about six months last year as a waitress. During that time she said Emma was a first-class worker.

Mrs Smith said: "Emma was a lovely girl who always worked hard. She was a very valuable employee and she would do whatever was needed of her.

"My husband worked with her and he is very upset. This is where her grandad drinks and the customers all knew her."

"It's been a sombre mood here since the weekend."

Police have appealed for anyone who may have seen Emma walking on the road from Malmesbury towards Corston between 3 and 4.30am on Saturday to contact Sgt Craig Hardy or PC Jim Torrey at Westbury on (01373) 827689.

By Ronan McCaughey