MOURNERS will pack a funeral service on Saturday (October 21) to pay tribute to builder Paul Ridout, who died in a car crash at Bishops Cannings on the night of Monday October 16.

Mr Ridout, 29, of Little Cheverell, was driving a Porsche Carrera on the A361 when it was in collision with a Ford Mondeo at the junction with the unclassified road to Blackland at 11.25pm.

The Mondeo did not stop after the accident and a man and a woman were later arrested.

The Porsche, which Mr Ridout hired last Thursday, ended up in a field 220 yards away from the point of impact. Wreckage was strewn across the road and the car was barely recognisable.

Mr Ridout's two passengers, a 21-year-old man from Easterton and a 20-year-old woman from Bradford on Avon, were left with minor injuries. They were taken by ambulance to Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon but later released.

Police said a man from Devizes and a woman from Compton Bassett were arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. They have been released on police bail, pending further inquiries.

The A361 was closed between the Blackland junction and the Beckhampton roundabout during Monday night and Tuesday morning and traffic was diverted through Blackland and along the A4.

The queue of diverted vehicles heading out of Devizes backed up past the North Wilts Golf Club as scenes-of-crime officers and police accident investigators carried out an intensive examination of the area of the crash.

Mr Ridout's fiancee, 19-year-old Bernadette Randall, said the Porsche was supposed to go back to the garage on Monday morning.

But she said: "He phoned them on Monday morning and asked to keep it till Thursday. They said OK. If he hadn't made that call he might still be alive."

Mr Ridout and Miss Randall were planning to marry on May 25 2002, five years to the day from when they met in Devizes Market Place.

Mr Ridout's cousin, Mark Wilding, the proprietor of Kytes Garage in Great Cheverell, said: "He was a highly respected businessman, a much loved family member and he is going to be missed terribly."

Mr Ridout ran the family builders business, Harry Ridout and Son, which he recently took over on the retirement of his father, Mervyn. He was the third generation to run the business.

Friends said Mr Ridout was a car enthusiast and was often to be seen at the wheel of a performance car. He was also a keen model maker.

He had an elder brother, James. Mr Ridout's mother, Sheelagh, died last year after a long fight against cancer.

Salisbury traffic police have appealed for anyone who saw a dark-coloured Ford Mondeo in the Devizes area between 10pm on Monday and 2am to come forward.

They also want to speak to any driver who may have passed the crash scene before the emergency services arrived.

Mr Ridout's funeral is due to take place on Saturday at 11am at the West Wiltshire Crematorium in Semington.