THE owners of a pub where a couple shared their last meal before dying in a car crash are sending flowers to the victims' families to express their sadness at the news.

Judith and Nigel Southall, owners of the Drum and Monkey pub in Upton-upon-Severn, and their daughter Fern, are sending condolences to the parents of Paul Kitsull and Cheryl Lewis, who died four days after Christmas.

The devoted couple, who shared a flat in Wells Road, Malvern, had been having a meal at the pub to celebrate the first anniversary of when they first met at the Drum and Monkey.

"It was their last meal before they died, and they met in our pub, so it's very upsetting," said Fern Southall.

She said hairdresser Cheryl's parents had visited the pub fairly regularly in the past, and she had seen Cheryl a few times, but did not know 31-year-old Paul.

Paul's vintage Mazda RX7 flipped over and ploughed into a barn wall on the A4104 near Upton-upon-Severn on Sunday, December 30, when the couple were on their way home after the meal.

Neither was wearing a seatbelt. Paul had to be cut from the wreckage by firefighters and 22-year-old Cheryl was thrown through the car windscreen.

Their funerals are being held this week. Inquests into their deaths were opened and adjourned on December 31.

They have been described as a lovely couple by family, who said they were besotted with each other.

Paul leaves a three-year-old son Michael, who lives with ex-partner Debbie.

People living near the crash scene have been campaigning for a number of years for alterations to make the A4104 safer.

They are concerned the speed limit is too high, and visibility is poor due to a number of blind bends.