A 42-year-old village cricket club captain and a 19-year-old father-to-be have been killed in a head-on road crash.

The victims have been named as Mike Ashton, a father of three, of Park Far, Ashford, who was the Sunday skipper of Bilsington Cricket Club, and teenager Mike Arnold, from Lydd, whose girfriend Sam is expecting a baby in December.

Mr Ashton loved cricket and played in the same side as sons Sam, 17, and Ben, 12.

Mr Ashton died when his Ford Mondeo and a Ford Ka driven by Mr Arnold collided on the A259 between Brenzett and New Romney on Friday, October 21, at about 11pm.

Darren Naisbitt, vice-captain of Bilsington’s Sunday side, played with Mr Ashton for years. He said: “Mike is irreplaceable. He was so passionate about his cricket and he inspired the rest of the team with his enthusiasm and determination.

“He was deeply serious on the pitch, wholly relaxed off it. Mike played the game hard and expected us to do the same.”

Mr Ashton was a talented all-rounder who saved the side from relegation this season. He was a powerful top-order batsman, bowled off a nagging length and could field in any position.

He brought in a fine system for anyone who dared to drop a catch during a game but rarely collected the money.

Mr Naisbitt stressed: “The players and supporters are all inconsolable. The team will never be the same without him.”

Mike Arnold's mother, Sue Bird, 48, who works in a Londis store, told the Kentish Express: “He was always happy. He was outgoing, the life and soul of the party. Everyone knew Mike and everyone who knew him, loved him.”

The teenager had been on a night out at an Ashford snooker hall with two friends and 16-year-old brother Chris when the tragedy happened.

The other three went home to Brookland in a separate car. Mr Arnold was killed while heading back to the home in Lydd High Street he shared with his mother and pregnant girlfriend Sam Piper.

Mr Arnold was born in Brookland and attended the village school before going on to Southlands in New Romney. He met Sam while working at Camber Sands Pontins holiday camp.

The pair had found out they were having a baby boy, and Mike liked the idea of the name Bradley for him. His wish will be honoured with his son’s arrival in December.

Sam said: “He was the most loving, most kind person you could ever meet.”

Mike also leaves, among others, 60-year-old father David, elder brother Steve, 27, 23-year-old sister Kelly, nephew and niece Josh, six, and Milly, three, and scores of devastated friends.

He was a staunch Liverpool Football Club supporter and You’ll Never Walk Alone will be a poignant part of his funeral service and burial at St Augustine’s Church at Brookland, next Thursday.