A church service open to all has been held for people to pay their respects to a Gillingham man and his wife who died in a plane crash.

David Rous and Dr Margaret-Ann Rous were en route to spend Easter with loved ones on Easter Saturday.

They were on a surprise trip to Tiree, a small island off the west coast of Scotland, but while over the Scottish highlands their plane crashed.

Mr Rous, 28, is originally from Spekes Road, Hempstead, and was on the way to see Dr Rous’ family.

On Saturday, a church gathering was held for friends, family and everyone in the 600-strong community of Tiree to pay their respects.

STV News has reported that a funeral date has not been set but the open door memorial gave people a chance to grieve over the sudden loss of the pair, and sign a book of condolences.

It is believed bad weather is to blame and the wreckage of the crash was found by a search party after the pair failed to arrive to the Tiree airstrip on time.

Pictures from Dr Rous’ public Facebook page show the happy couple celebrating their wedding, visiting Venice and last December posing for a photo while in an aircraft, wearing headsets.

Mr Rous’ family have asked for privacy at this time, but other wished to pay tribute to the pair.

Speaking to the Daily Mail Dr John Holliday, Tiree’s local doctor for almost 30 years, said:“[Margaret-Ann] captivated everyone that knew her. She was absolutely gorgeous in every way.

“[Mr Rous] was a really nice man and a very talented structural engineer with a bright professional career ahead of him.

“Together they made a fine couple. We can only imagine what the family must be suffering.”

Contact with the couple’s plane was lost on Saturday afternoon and a cross emergency service effort saw them found at around 8pm, but neither survived.

They has originally set off from Dundee airport in a Piper Cherokee light aircraft, and visibility on the day was said to be very poor.