THE spire at a Kent church will be floodlit for an evening in memory of a former villager who was killed in the Asian tsunami.

June Abeyratne, formerly Dobedoe, died after saving her daughter's life in Sri Lanka.

She used to live in Popsal Lane, Wingham, near Canterbury with her parents, Roland and Peggy and went to school in the village.

Prayers have already been said but the church spire will be floodlit on Sunday, January 30, in her memory.

Mrs Abeyratne, 48, had travelled to Sri Lanka with her businessman husband Viraj, 42, and 11-year-old daughter, Alexandra to open an orphanage. She stayed in a beachside bungalow with her daughter while her Sri Lankan husband went on a safari.

When the tsunami struck she and Alexandra were trapped in the ground floor. She was able to save her daughter by pushing her out of the window but could not escape herself and drowned.

Mr Abeyratne returned to the bungalow to find it almost completely wrecked by the wave. He found his wife's body three days later hundreds of metres away.

The news of Mrs Abeyratne's death only recently reached Wingham. A close friend, Jean McCarthy, 75, of South Court Drive, had been trying to get in touch with her after hearing about the tsunami.

"I was ringing her number in Surrey for five days until I finally left a message on her answer machine that I was worried and wanted her to get in touch," she said.

It was then that she received a call from one of Mrs Abeyratne's friends telling her the news.

"It was a terrible shock," said Mrs McCarthy. "June was like one of my family. She knew my sons well and was always round here. After she left St Anselm's School in Canterbury she went to university where she met her husband.

"She used to come back to Wingham regularly to see me. Her father died a few years ago and her mother, who then moved to be near her in Surrey, last year. She was also a lovely out-going woman. Everyone loved her and she will be remembered by many people in the village."