THE grief-stricken family of Bournemouth trainee teacher Sarah Crutchley, who died last month in a tragic accident in Thailand, have described her as “the light of our lives”.

As they prepare for the funeral service of their “darling daughter” at the Church of the Annunciation in Charminster Road on Wednesday, Sarah’s parents Jill and Ian are requesting that mourners do not wear black.

The 30-year-old lost her footing as she walked across submerged rocks and fell into two feet of water, close to the edge of the Ton Nga Chang falls on April 15.

The aspiring teacher, who had been in Thailand for three weeks, managed to grab a large rock for a few seconds but was washed away by the torrent of water.

Despite attempts by her shocked companion Chris Penny to save Sarah, it is believed that she slid about 30ft down the sloping rock-face before plunging off the 300ft drop.

Mr Penny, 21, was later quoted as saying: “It was just horrible to watch. I think she was knocked out cold during the first fall and she wouldn’t have known anything about it. She didn’t stand a chance.”

Sarah was visiting the popular tourist spot with Chris and three other friends from their English teaching course.

She will be remembered at a Requiem Mass at 10.30am on Wednesday before a woodland burial at the North Cemetery.