Tributes paid to grandmother who died in tractor tragedy (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Tributes paid to grandmother who died in tractor tragedy

3:13pm Tuesday 11th September 2012 in News By Laura Shack

A GRANDMOTHER has died after her vintage tractor overturned near Cirencester while she was driving home from a country show she had helped to organise.

Edith Hannis, 75, from Cranham, was driving the slow-moving classic tractor up the steep Daneway Hill in Sapperton when the accident happened at around 3.15pm on Saturday.

The 1966 red and grey Massey Ferguson tractor had been on show at a vintage farm vehicle gathering in the area and was leaving the event when it clipped a verge and rolled over, trapping Mrs Hannis.

A number of onlookers called emergency services and are believed to have attempted to resuscitate the pensioner, who was unconscious and was not breathing.

A Great Western Air Ambulance and further emergency services scrambled to the scene, but Mrs Hannis died from multiple injuries.

Her husband of about sixty years, David Hannis, had been driving further ahead in a car and reached home unaware of the accident.

The couple, who have three children and six grandchildren, are well known in the vintage farm vehicle world and have frequently exhibited their tractors at shows around the country.

Their son-in-law Richard Twinning said: "She and her husband had a passion for vintage tractors and owned somewhere between 10 and 20 of them.

"They went to shows quite often - I think they had already done three this year.

"Dave is devastated about what's happened. She was a lovely, lively and vivacious lady with a real passion for life."

Flowers have been left at the scene of the accident, including one bunch with a card, which said: "We will never forget you or the lovely fun weekends we had with you."

The road was closed for around five hours whilst collision investigation officers carried out their work.

A spokesman for the Gloucester coroner said Mrs Hannis had not yet been formally identified and an inquest was not expected to open until after Wednesday.

Anyone with any information about the accident is asked to contact Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting incident number 286 of September 8.