FOUR Sussex friends have been killed in a horror crash while on holiday in Australia.

Brothers Martyn and Ben Hebblethwaite and friend Peter Standing had been celebrating Timothy Skipp's 22nd birthday yesterday.

They were all killed instantly when a truck slammed into their car.

Police said the accident happened at a set of traffic lights at roadworks on the Bruce Highway, near Tully, Queensland. A spokesman said the four men were in a rented Ford estate car that had come to a stop at the lights just before midnight.

She said: "A lorry collided with the rear of the car and pushed it off the road. The Ford then rolled into a ditch."

Timothy was the son of West Sussex deputy coroner Dr David Skipp, a GP at Park Surgery, Albion Way, Horsham.

His mother, Dr Helen Skipp, works at the family planning clinic at Horsham Hospital.

Martin Hebblethwaite, 22, and Ben Hebblethwaite, 20, are from the Horsham area and Peter Standing, 21, is from Hove.

Dr Skipp was on his way today to Bristol to break the sad news to Timothy's sister, who is studying to be a doctor.

His grandfather, the Rev Gordon Skipp, of Parkfield, North Parade, Horsham, chaplain at Horsham Hospital, said the family had been up all night and were too upset to talk.

He said: "Timothy was a wonderful chap and very loveable."

Timothy was a representative for a pharmaceutical firm in Nottingham.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by Queensland police.

Aspokesman said the driver of the lorry was admitted to a local hospital with shock and minor injuries, and was later released. He is to be questioned by police.

Megan Hunt, the British vice-consul in Brisbane, said: "This is an absolute tragedy.

"The next of kin of all four men have been contacted through the Foreign Office."

She said the British Consulate was informed of the tragedy five hours after the accident.

The crash happened near roadworks close to the sugar-cane farming town of Tully, 200km south of Cairns in north Queensland, the "sunshine state".

Mrs Hunt said: "The young men's car was stationary when it was hit by a semi-trailer lorry and they were killed instantly.

"Australian police attended the accident scene straight away and as soon as the consul was informed we immediately contacted the Foreign Office and the UK police to locate the families and tell them what happened.

"It is a terrible tragedy and we have expressed our condolences to the families.

"I don't know exactly how long the young men had been in the country but two had been there no more than three weeks.

"Police here are investigating the cause of the accident but there is no suggestion at this time of attaching blame to any party.

"We are making every effort to fly the bodies back to England as soon as possible."

Sussex Police had the task of breaking the news to their families.

Tony Keim a reporter on the Brisbane-based Courier-Mail newspaper, said: "Police can find no reason for the accident at the moment. We are not sure whether the truck driver will face charges.

"Police are still mopping up at the scene. The area is littered with their belongings. Rucksacks and travel books are strewn all over the area.

"Their station wagon was completely wrecked. The rear of the vehicle had been compacted up to the front seats.

"It was pushed into a ditch along side a sugar cane field. The boys died instantly - there was nothing anyone could do." "We have no idea where the boys were coming from or going to."

The road crash was the second accident in the same spot in less than six hours.

AQueensland Ambulance spokesman said a truck crashed into the back of a stationary ambulance and one person was hurt.

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