A father and daughter killed in a crash while standing at the side of their car have been named locally.

Valentino Coleman and his daughter Liv died after they pulled up behind a stationary Renault Clio at the side of the A299 Hengist Way on Monday, October 23.

Mr Coleman, known to most as Tino, was the owner of One Hairdressing in Market Buildings, Maidstone.

The 49-year-old and 21-year-old had been travelling in a Toyota Aygo which had stopped behind the Renault Clio at around 9pm.

A white Mercedes Sprinter van was travelling towards Ramsgate when it crashed into the Toyota.

The driver of the van, a man in his 40s from the Thanet area, has been interviewed by officers and is assisting with inquiries.

Suzanne Holmes, who owns Salamander gift shop, opposite, said: "What can I say? all the time he was full of life, everyone knew him and he showed kindness and helped everyone who is around here.

"You always knew when he was around as you could always hear his voice. I think everyone is just flattened by what has happened. We just can't put the two things together. The word tragic just doesn't sum it up as it wasn't just his life but his daughter.

"If you were having a bad day he would come in and make you feel better. His love for his family was immense and he was so passionate about his family. He adored his wife and loved his girls; a total family man."

Steven Betts runs Stainless Steve's Tattoo Shop above and was a close friend.

He said: "He was such a great guy and a good friend who will be sadly missed. He always had time for everybody."

In a notice on the shop, the Coleman family said: “To all clients, it is with a heavy heart that we are sending this message today.

“On Monday night Tino and his eldest daughter were unfortunately killed in a road traffic accident.

“We cannot put into words what the family are going through but we hope you understand that they are trying to get through every minute at the moment.”

Neighbour Glyn Hall, said the Coleman's were fantastic people.

She said the family had lived next to her in College Avenue, Gillingham, for quite a few years.

Mrs Hall said: "They were fantastic people, a really lovely family and fanatic neighbours.

"I heard about it as I got a message from the salon as I used to use the hairdressers. It is shocking news."

Over the road, another neighbour, Diane Potter said she used to go to Woodlands Secondary School, with Valentino.

She added: "They were a really lovely family, we used to call them the ideal family as they had such beautiful daughters.

"I found out from a friend as we were all members of the Woodlands school Facebook group.

"I was friend with him on Facebook too. It is very sad."

Police have also renewed their appeal for witnesses to the crash.

Investigating officer Sergeant Hannah Brown said: "The Renault Clio and Toyota Aygo were both stationary on the side of the road. Parked in front of them was a white Citroen Berlingo recovery vehicle.

"We have spoken to a number of witnesses already but believe there may be others who have not yet spoken to us.

"As well as witnesses who saw the actual collision, we are also very keen to hear from anyone who was driving or was being driven along that stretch of road that night and saw the three vehicles on the side of the road before the collision occurred.

"They may think they haven’t any useful information for us, but their eye-witness accounts of the three parked vehicles could provide vital information for our investigation.

"Anyone with dashcam footage of the vehicles before the collision is also asked to come forward."

If you can help, call Kent Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 01622 798538 quoting AH/DM/240/17 or email sciu.td@kent.pnn.police.uk