THE FAMILY of a couple who died in a taxi crash while on holiday have had to wait more than a year for an inquest thanks to delays in Mauritius.

An inquest into the deaths of George Hugh Vaughan, 56, and his wife Elizabeth Marie Vaughan, 45 - of Higher Heath near Whitchurch - concluded that they died as a result of a road traffic collision on May 1 last year.

Mr Vaughan - known as Hugh and a director at Landia UK in Whitchurch - died at the scene of the crash in Long Mountain, while his wife later died in hospital.

Senior coroner John Ellery said that ordinarily he would expect such a case to be dealt with in three or four months.

But the hearing at Shirehall was told that the inquest had been delayed because the taxi driver is believed to be charged with a criminal offence, but that it could take up to three years to conclude.

Another reason was that the authorities in Mauritius have been carrying out a public safety review on the stretch of road, but information or timeframe had been received.

Mr Ellery said that the inquest had been adjourned regularly to see when the information was coming, but a view was taken that on balance it was better to proceed."

The inquest heard that the couple had been on holiday for around a week and were travelling back to their hotel when the crash happened.

Mr Ellery said that driver appeared to have lost control of the taxi, which rolled over several times, in the course of which Mr and Mrs Vaughan suffered multiple injuries.

The conditions were understood to have been wet, he said.

The expressed his condolences to relatives of Mr and Mrs Vaughan who attended the hearing.

He said that the coroner's office would keep then informed of any updates, and asked them to do likewise.

After the hearing, Mr Vaughan's daughter Abigail said: "He was a brilliant businessman and a great father to us all.

"To have him taken away in such tragic circumstances hit us all really hard, but hopefully we're going to find the answers to what happened and his memory will live on in all of us."