A father and son were the victims of the horrific smash on the A20 at Hothfield on New Year's Eve.

John and Chris Hocking died as their car, coming out of a petrol station, collided with a van near their Hothfield home.

An inquest is due to open into the deaths at Ashford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning.

Mr Hocking snr was an ex-policeman who later became a volunteer for the animal charity The Fox Project.

The charity’s director Trevor Williams said: “It has been a terrible shock for us. It has hit us all very hard.

“John worked for us for eight years and Chris helped him. We had got to know John very well. Our charity is like a family and now we have lost a senior member.”

The crash happened at 5.10pm as the pair’s red Peugeot was coming out of the Esso garage on the A20 at Hothfield and turning right towards Ashford.

The car was in collision with a silver Volkswagen Transporter going London-bound.

Mr Hocking snr, in his 70s, and his son, in his late 40s, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

The three people in the van, a woman and two men, were injured and taken to Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital. The woman suffered a head injury and the men cuts and whiplash but none of their injuries were considered life-threatening.

Five ambulances went to the scene.

The road was closed until 2.13am on New Year’s Day while officers from the Serious Crash Investigation Unit searched for clues and the crashed vehicles were recovered.

John Hocking lived in Hothfield’s Maidstone Road area and his son was understood to have lived nearby.

The crash happened close to the Woolpack pub and restaurant was staff were busy with customers in the New Year’s Eve rush.

For more details see this week's Kentish Express.