A grieving mother has told how her daughter died in her arms minutes after a road crash in north essex.

Julia Kettle - died of multiple injuries.(20636-1)

Wendy Jipson cradled the teenager as they waited for help after their car hit a telegraph pole in Long Road East, Dedham.

Julia Kettle, 17, of Colchester Road, Lawford, died of multiple injuries following the crash in the early hours of March 28.

A distraught Mrs Jipson, still in shock and in pain from the severe bruising all over her body which she sustained in the accident, said: "I held her and she died in my arms."

Mrs Jipson recalled how she had had to climb out of the wrecked vehicle through the windscreen so the emergency services could get to her daughter.

She said: "They told me in the ambulance she was dead, but I knew already. I felt her go."

Friends and neighbours have described Julia as extremely pretty and a popular, fun-loving girl.

Her mother agreed. She said: "She was gorgeous, so vibrant and lived life to the full."

Julia attended Highfields Primary School, Lawford, then Manningtree High School, before spending a year at Colchester Institute. She joined estate agent Bairstow Eves at its branch in High Street, Colchester, about six months ago.

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Published Monday, April 8, 2002