Community unite to honour family killed on holiday

Maria and Domingos Serrano, centre, with their twin sons Afonso and Dom

Tributes and donations have flooded in following the death of a family in a car crash while on holiday.

Domingos and Maria Serrano, their 20-year-old sons Afonso and Dom and the girlfriend of one of the twins, Weronika, died just a few hours after landing in Portugal.

The family lived in Thetford, Norfolk, and the town's two football clubs have been involved in memorial events as the twins had played for both clubs.

A memorial match is being planned, an online crowdfunding page has raised more than £10,000 and the brothers' employer Centre Parcs has paid tribute.

Portuguese nationals Domingos, 55, and Maria, 51, had worked at the Center Parcs, in Elveden, Suffolk, where their sons had been working recently.

Mr and Mrs Serrano's daughter-in-law, Catia Vieira, has explained that they had landed in Faro, on Portugal's south coast, on the evening of Friday 8 August.

But after picking up a hire car to head north to see their family, they were involved in a crash shortly after 02:00 about 62 miles (100km) into their journey, on the IP2 main road in Castro Verde. A man in the other car also died.

More than 350 donations have been made to the online fundraising page set up by Ms Vieira, totalling more than £10,400.

She said the funds were in aid of Mr and Mrs Serrano's surviving son and daughter, to help with funeral costs and travel to Portugal.

Back in the UK, about 300 people attended a memorial service held at Thetford Town Football Club last Wednesday.

Doves were released into the sky as a mark of a respect.

Afonso and Dom both played for the club's under-18s having played junior football for Thetford Bulldogs.

The two clubs' under-18 teams plan to meet in a memorial match on Sunday 31 August, starting at 14:00 BST at the Lomax Spiral Systems Stadium, with a raffle, food stalls and donation buckets planned.

Thetford Town's men's first team, left, and Dereham Town, held a minute's applause following the death of the five locals in Portugal

Back in Portugal, Mourao City Council held a two-day period of mourning following the crash and said a funeral took place last Thursday.

Mourao is in the district of Evora in the east of Portugal and is about 87 miles (140km) north-east of where the crash happened.

The council's statement explained: "We do not want the family, friends and the community to be deprived of this final farewell and tribute to this dear Mouran family."

The UK Foreign Office has said the family were living in Thetford but were not believed to be British nationals.

Weronika was a Polish national also living locally.

'Well-liked'

The Serrano family had all worked at the Elveden Forest Center Parcs

A spokeswoman from Center Parcs said Dom and Afonso were "very well-liked and respected" members of the Leisure Bowl and Treats team.

"We were shocked and deeply saddened by this awful news," she said.

"They will all be deeply missed and our heart goes out to everyone who knew them, as well as the friends and families of all those involved.

"We are focusing on supporting our colleagues as they come to terms with their loss and we will ensure a suitable long-lasting tribute to their memory is in place at Center Parcs Elveden Forest."

About 300 people attended a memorial service at Thetford Town FC's ground in Mundford Road

Thetford Town chairman Nigel Armes said the community spirit at Thetford Town and Thetford Bulldogs had shone through following the tragedy.

"That's what our football club is about," said Mr Armes.

"It's somewhere that there is no politics or economics, everyone is equal, and it's times like these that football clubs come into their own.

"We're a big part of the community.

"It's about the volunteers and people having somewhere to go – and what makes me more proud is the youngsters.

"These were lads who were 20 years old and the impact that it's had on their peers and people who knew them at school is huge - but the support the youngsters are giving to their family, that's the biggest thing."