Tragic couple died days after getting engaged

Kirsty Belsham, 22, and 23-year-old Alexander Wilson, known as Alex, were looking forward to a happy future together.

But they both died when Kirsty’s car, a grey Fiat Punto, came off Runshaw Lane in Euxton and went into a ditch at around 11pm on Thursday.

The couple had previously split up but recently got back together and Alex proposed on Saturday, March 19 at his home on Bispham Avenue, in Farington Moss.

They had two children, Lacey May, aged five, and Tyler James, four.

Alex’s grandmother Elspbeth, with whom he lived, said: “They were happier than they had been in years. It was a joy to see them.

“They were a young couple and they had a lightness and brightness and playfulness about them.

“They were a lovely family together. I was so happy that he and Kirsty had got back together.”

She continued: “The happiness was shortlived, but I have to console myself that they were so happy together before this happened and they went together and they are together forever now.”

She described Alex as “a fine young man” and “a wonderful father.”

He attended St Mary’s Catholic High School in Leyland, before doing various jobs, including working on a chicken farm and building swimming pools.

He had recently started working as a floor fitter and hoped to set up his own business.

Mrs Wilson said: “He was a dedicated worker and he had a work ethic like nobody else I know. He was never out of a job.

“He had grown into a young man we were very proud of.”

Kirsty, who lived in Buckshaw Village, was a former pupil at Balshaw’s CE High School in Leyland and had recently started working for a cleaning firm.

Mrs Wilson said: “She was bubbly, she was giggly. She was obviously full of her kids, she would have done anything for them.

“She was kind, she would have done anything for anybody else. She was a wee bundle of energy.”

Funeral plans have not yet been made, but it is hoped that there will be a joint service.

Friends of the couple are collecting donations for a trust fund for their children.

They set a target of £2,000 and yesterday 160 donations totallying £2,308 had already been made.

To support the appeal, go to www.gofundme.com/qvw6nfvn.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident to call them on 101, quoting log reference 1495 of March 24.