A year after a horrific car crash killed two sisters, their family is still coming to terms with the tragedy.

It has been a difficult weekend for Jez Ring and his children, Lauren, eight, Demi, six, Jez Junior, two, and 21-month-old Chantelle.

A year ago there was a knock on the door of their home in Forge Close, Portslade. A police officer told them the children's mother, Lena, had been killed.

For Maggie Kensett, 44, it meant she had lost two of her three daughters - 25-year-old Lena and Margaret, 19 - in addition to a son, Mark, who died shortly after his birth in 1977.

The Rover 827 in which Lena and Margaret had accepted a lift home from Steamers nightclub ended up wrapped around a lamp post opposite the Queen's Hotel.

The two sisters were killed instantly. It was the second tragedy to hit the close-knit Kensett family in seven months.

The sisters' cousin, Jay Kensett, was knifed to death in Whitehawk Way the previous March.

At the inquest in February, a verdict of accidental death on the two sisters was recorded.

The report of the inquest was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service, but there has been no subsequent court case.

The driver of the Rover, Mohammed Hrimile, was injured and has severe memory loss.

His friend Haydar Jefferies, who was found injured on the back seat, has told police he cannot recall anything about the accident.

The family is pursuing a civil claim for damages through the car's insurance company but Maggie says no money will compensate for the loss of her daughters.

She said: "My main concern has been to help Jez with the children. It has been a difficult year, emotionally and practically. I have tried to be a grandmother and mother to my babes and give as much support to Jez as possible."

The family yesterday visited the graves of Lena and Margaret at Hove Cemetery, where they are buried next to their baby brother Mark.

Maggie remembers her first words to the police officer who told her of the crash.

She said: "I was numb with shock and said, 'Oh my God, you can't take three of my children away from me'.

"I still can't believe I have lost two of my daughters in addition to my baby son. Life is so cruel sometimes.

"I still half expect them to walk through the door and say 'Hello Mum'.

"Lena loved her children and wanted more. She once told me she wanted to have nine.

"You never saw her unhappy. She was so full of life. She had not lived long enough to know any real pain or heartache."

For Jez, 29, it has been the most difficult year of his life. He has given up his work as a plumber to look after his young family.

He had been married to Lena - his teenage sweetheart at Portslade Community College - for nine years.

Jez said: "Lena wanted a night out with her sister. They went to a nightclub, got offered a lift home and took it because it saved on taxi fares.

"She was enjoying herself after looking after the children all day.

"Since her death, I have dedicated my life to bringing up the children. I rely on income support but the help I get from my family and the community has been superb.

"It has been a difficult time but somehow we have got through."