GRIEVING parents last night paid tribute to their ten-year-old son and teenage daughter who died in a road accident at the weekend.

Lee Anderson was a front-seat passenger in a Citroen Saxo being driven by his 19-year-old sister, Jenna, when it was in collision with a Nissan Micra on the A693, at High Handehold, between Stanley and Chester-le-Street, County Durham, on Saturday.

The brother and sister were on the way to visit their older sibling Lindsay, 26, in Consett, County Durham, and their five-year-old niece, whom they doted on.

Both Jenna, and Lee, of Ouston, near Chester-le-Street, had spent time with their father and his new partner on a holiday in Corfu, in June.

Although their parents are separated they are still a very close family.

Devastated father Ray Armstrong, 52, a retired policeman, said: "Jenna was a wonderful girl. She was lovely and she lived life to the full.

"She liked to speak her mind and she was independent, but she was devoted to her family and her dog Brandy - a golden retriever Jack Russell cross.

"I had just set her up in her own house and we were busy getting her everything she needed. She was just starting off in life really.

"She was training to be a nurse and had completed part of her training while she worked as a carer."

He added: "She certainly knew how to have a good time though. She was the life and soul of the party."

Referring to Lee, Mr Armstrong said: "He was never happier than when he was on the golf course with me or playing football for Hilder Park Football Club.

"He was just a wonderful little boy."

Their mother Karen, 47, said: "Jenna had such a great sense of humour. That is what I will remember most about her.

"She knew all of the teenage catch-phrases and she used to bamboozle me with them."

Mrs Armstrong, who previously worked as a nurse but is now a full-time student at New College Durham studying holistic medicine, said: "They were my little guinea pigs whenever I wanted to try out a new massage - Lee especially.

"As soon as I started he would fall asleep.

"He liked sports and he played golf with his dad. He has got is own special bag for his clubs and little gold shoes. He used to love it."