DEVASTATED relatives of car crash victim Dean Thorne have been told by the Forestry Commission that a memorial will have to be moved from the scene of his fatal collision.

Dean, a 38-year-old father-of-three, was killed when his Vauxhall car collided with a tree on Roman Road near Soudley in 2008.

Sister Tracy Thorne and Dean's daughter Bridie have been campaigning to keep their memorial at a tree off Roman Road near Soudley.

They were told that the tree had to be felled as part of regular tree maintenance. They began petitioning, collecting more than 400 signatures.

However, now they must look to move the memorial to a younger tree in the area.

"We're devastated," said Tracey.

"It's hard. We've been told we can move it onto the next tree for the time being, which is good."

Tracy received a letter from the Forestry Commission explaining the situation, but says it has done little to ease the hurt among the family.

For more on this story, read The Forester.