Special service to honour family

Ledbury newsagents Martin McCoig-Lees and his wife Denise, both aged 47, and their youngest son Ryan, aged nine, were among the seven people killed in the M56 crash on Thursday, July 11.

The service will be held at St Michael & All Angels Church in Ledbury, on Wednesday, July 23, at 2.30pm. It will be open to the whole community.

Mr and Mrs McCoig-Lees' son Richard, aged 15, who was also in the minibus, survived with shoulder, chest and face injuries and is staying with his elder brother Matthew and extended family in Herefordshire.

Matthew, aged 19, is a student at Manchester University. He had stayed at home to work at a holiday job in Ledbury.

When news of the accident was broken to him and his grandparents, John and Margaret Kennedy of the Langlands in the Homend, Ledbury, Matthew decided to go to Manchester.

So proud

"He is only 19. He went to Manchester a boy, but came back a man. I am so proud of him," said Mr Kennedy.

The family had been off on a holiday to Disneyland in Florida when the minibus crashed near Manchester airport.

It was not until the following day that news of the tragedy was confirmed to the community - the same day as they were to welcome the Queen to the town.

Floral tributes and messages of condolence have since been left at the newsagents, which the couple had run for 10 years, in the Homend.

Mr Kennedy said he took the decision to re-open the newsagents, despite the tragedy, to keep going for the sake of his grandsons.

"Every customer is a friend. They have all expressed their sorrow, and then left me alone.

"I decided I had to bite the bullet and get on with it," he said.

Mr and Mrs McCoig-Lees met when Denise was working as a secretary at the Holmer Road factory of Henry Wiggin in Redhill.

After they married, the couple lived in Bromyard.

Mr Kennedy started in the Ledbury newsagents 16 years ago and was later joined by his daughter and son-in-law.