The victim of a road traffic accident near Wheathampstead late last month has been named as 83-year-old John Lawrence.

A father of one and grandfather of four, he lived in Hatfield with his wife Betty.

John died when his blue Ford Fiesta failed to negotiate a bend on the B653 Marford Road close to the junction with Waterend Lane shortly before 11am on Saturday, July 26, and subsequently hit a tree.

His family described him as ‘one in a million’ and recalled how he spent the majority of his working life as an engineering inspector at British Aerospace. Most recently he worked for Hatfield parish council as a maintenance man.

John’s funeral is being held at Harwood Park Crematorium in Stevenage at 4.15pm on Monday.