A GRANDMOTHER who acted as Good Samaritan to a family she had befriended died in a car crash while driving home.

Carer Ann Simmons, 57, City Way, Rochester, was killed when her car was involved in a three-car crash on the A21 at Flimwell on the Kent-Sussex border.

Mrs Simmons' husband David, 58, says he intends to honour his wife's memory by taking a family holiday which was booked shortly before her death.

The devoted couple, who had been married for 36 years, had been looking forward to the holiday in Barcelona with their son Mark, 30, next month.

The couple lived most of their married life in the Medway area, where Mrs Simmons worked in various shops in Chatham. She trained to work as a carer to people with learning disabilities and became close to a family in Flimwell offering respite care to their son.

Mr Simmons said: "Her job was her second love and she was very good at it. She would go in unpaid, driving all the way down to Flimwell to care for this man."

Mrs Simmons died when her Honda Jazz was involved in a three-car pile during the evening rush hour shortly after 6pm last Monday.

Mr Simmons said he knows his wife would want him to take the holiday. The family is now struggling to come to terms with their loss but have been comforted by the support they have received from friends and neighbours.

Mrs Simmons, a grandmother of two, was also a great lover of athletics and was an active supporter of the Medway Athletics Club. Her two daughters, Amanda, 38, and Sarah, 29, were both members of the club. Athletes from the club are expected to attend the funeral at Medway Crematorium on Thursday.

The family has asked that tributes be made to the sporting charity, the Ron Pickering Trust.