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Former town councillor Winsome dies in crash
A FORMER Hailsham councillor has been killed in a car crash in Turkey.
Winsome Ottaway, 66, was behind the wheel of a rental car which was involved in a head-on collision with a bus on Thursday evening.
Her sister Barbara Seager, 64, who lived in Fethiye, Turkey, was also killed in the accident.
Mrs Ottaway, of Western Road, Hailsham, had been on a month-long visit to her sister and had been due home yesterday (Tuesday).
Winsome and Barbara had been returning from a visit to the hot springs at Pamukkale, in south west Turkey, when the crash happened.
Turkish newspapers claimed the driver of the bus was arrested at the scene. The 11 bus passengers are all believed to have escaped with minor injuries.
Mrs Ottaway served two terms as a town councillor for Hailsham East ward between 1995 and 2003.
Cllr John Blake, leader of the Lib Dems on the town council, paid tribute to Mrs Ottaway as a 'staLwart supporter' of the party.
He said, "She was good natured and good humoured. It is a tragedy that this should have happened."
Mrs Ottaway was also chairman of the Wealden district branch of the Leukaemia Research Fund. Her son, Steven Ottaway, died from the disease aged three and a half.
Winsome was married to John Ottaway and she leaves a son, Christopher Ottaway, and daughter Shirley Giles. Winsome also had one grandchild - Shirley's daughter Rebekah Wheatley.
She was confined to a wheelchair for the latter part of her life as she suffered from a condition which caused crumbling of the spine.
But Winsome's daughter Shirley said that despite this her mother was still a very active person.
She said, "She could walk short distances but it caused her a lot of pain so she would use a chair to get about.
"But it never stopped her doing things she wanted to do. She even drove all around America about 10 years ago, something she was very proud of."
Shirley added the family were waiting for Winsome's body to be brought home before funeral arrangements could be made.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson confirmed the organisation was offering its assistance.
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Weather for Eastbourne
Friday 25 May 2012
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