A young bride-to-be killed in a car crash just a week ago has been described as a 'dear friend' by the people who knew her.

Catherine Louise Barton, 27, from Rowan Drive in Brandon, was driving a black Ford KA when it was involved in a crash with a VW Golf on the B1107 Brandon Road in Thetford on August 5.

Miss Barton, a student veterinary nurse at the Watton branch of the Old Golfhouse Veterinary Group, had been preparing for her wedding, scheduled for July next year, and bought her wedding dress and planned her hen do and honeymoon in the weeks before her death.

Her work colleagues, and close friends, yesterday described her as someone who enjoyed a joke but loved her job and was conscientious and popular with clients and patients.

Head veterinary nurse, Karen McQuoid, said: 'She was really loud and bubbly and fun. She wore her heart on her sleeve. This week has been exceptionally tough.

'It's not just a colleague we've lost so it's not just a gap in the team; it's a personal loss to each and every one of us. We're like a family and she was the joyful and fun centre of it.

'She had a lovely life and was such a fun and bubbly person. She was up and about all the time - she lived life to the max and didn't waste a minute.'

Miss Barton, a veterinary nurse for 10 years, with short stints in King's Lynn and Ely, Cambridgeshire before joining the Old Golfhouse, had recently passed her Veterinary Care Assistant course with distinction.

She was due to begin college in September to study veterinary nursing. Some 18-months ago she adopted three rescue cats, Cheddar, Cleo and Scamp.

Clinical director, Kristina Peters, said: 'She was very compassionate about welfare and had exceptional clinical and nursing skills. She had an empathy and compassion that you can't learn.

'She was one of the most organised people I've met and had immense attention to detail. With her it was what you see is what you get so she was super honest and was always playing practical jokes.

'We're a very close team here and we're all very good friends outside of work so we've not only lost a colleague, we've lost a very dear friend.'

The practice has now opened a condolence book for anyone who knew her and would like to pay tribute, and dedicated a special wall full of photos to her memory.