THE family of a Kent lorry driver killed in Spain are warning other hauliers to make sure they are insured after they had to find £3,000 to bring his body home.

Philip Buss, 44, of Hawthorn Avenue, Sheerness, died in a Barcelona depot when his lorry unit rolled back and crushed him while he was coupling the unit to a trailer.

His widow, Michelle, 35, was shocked to find that the haulage firm he worked for had no cover for fatalities among its drivers so the family had to raise the cash to fly his body back.

Marc Faulkner, a brother-in-law of the dead man who went to Spain to arrange the body's return, said: "We want drivers who are working abroad to make sure that they are covered." Mr Faulkner said the company later made a contribution towards the bill, but he added: "Although it had liability insurance, it did not have any cover for fatalities."

Mr Buss died on September 19. A post mortem and inquest were held in Spain, but the men only had a few hours to find the funds to bring the body home. Otherwise, under Spanish law, the body would have been cremated because of the country's hot climate.

Mrs Buss, a canteen assistant at Bond's in Sheerness, said the lack of insurance had left her and her sons, James, nine, and Charley, six, without any compensation. She thanked staff at Bond's, where Mr Buss had previously worked, for holding a collection and thanked Sheerness funeral directors Hogben's for their help.

The funeral will be held at Vinters Park Crematorium, Maidstone, on October 16 at 3pm.