A YOUNG Melksham woman was killed in a three-car crash in Devon on Friday.

Michelle Phillips, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, after the Peugeot 306 in which she was a front seat passenger collided with two other cars.

Her grieving parents, Sandra and John, this week paid tribute to a fun-loving, sports-mad daughter.

Mrs Phillips said: "She really lived life to the full and she was lovely with it. She did so much in her 26 years.

"She was a good friend as well as a daughter. We just think we were so lucky to have had her for 26 years."

Michelle, a former pupil at George Ward School and Trowbridge College, loved sports of all kinds and was in Devon with her boyfriend, 28-year-old Steve Ozga, to learn how to surf.

Shortly before her death she sent a text message to one of her brothers to tell him she had just stood up on the board and ridden her first wave.

Miss Phillips, who had two older brothers, 35-year-old twins, Darren and Darrel, was in many sports teams at school, playing tennis, netball and football and enjoyed gymnastics, trampolining, skiing and water sports.

She had been a member of the Melksham CATS netball team, playing in the Moonraker League, for the past two years.

After leaving Trowbridge College she worked for Trowbridge Town Council for a short time and also helped out as a volunteer with West Wiltshire District Council's sports roadshows.

Steve Nash, sports and community development officer for Trowbridge Town Council said: "She was a fun-loving girl who was great with the kids.

"She was full of energy and would try any sport. We will all miss her."

For the past three years Miss Phillips had worked for Hargreaves Sports in The Shires shopping centre, in Trowbridge, where she was assistant manager.

Manager Ron Surgey said: "Michelle was more than just a colleague, she was a friend to all of us and we will really miss her.

"She always had a smile and a joke for everyone and we will miss her for being Michelle not just for being assistant manager here."

Miss Phillips also worked at the White Hart pub in Atworth and would help out behind the bar at the Assembly Hall in Melksham whenever she was needed.

She also spent time as a special constable with Wiltshire Police Force, qualifying in 2000.

Miss Phillips met Steve Ozga, an oceanographer, last year and had recently moved in with him at his Whitley home.

Her mother said: "They were soul mates, a perfect match. He is totally devastated."

Police are still investigating the cause of the crash, which happened on the North Devon Link Road at 4pm on Good Friday, and funeral details have not yet been finalised.