A leading North-East farmer and his wife were in mourning last night after their 22-year-old son was killed in a road accident in Australia.

William Betton died instantly when a tractor he was in overturned as it was being towed to a repair works 50 miles from Sydney.

His parents, Richard and Dodge Betton, were in deep shock with their other three children last night on their hill farm at Harwood, near Barnard Castle.

Mr Betton, chairman of the North-East board of the NFU, a union delegate and a member of Teesdale District Council, was at an NFU meeting in Warwickshire, when told of his son's death.

He drove straight home to comfort his wife, who is a practice nurse at Barnard Castle Health Centre.

Their other children are Edmund, 19, Elinor, 17, and Sophie, 14.

Mr Betton said: "William always got on well with everyone. He never had an enemy in the world."

William, who gained A-levels at Teesdale School and graduated in geography from Newcastle University, went to Australia a year ago to gain farming experience.

He worked for Mark Edwards on his 350-cow dairy farm at Shepperton for eight months before moving to drive a combine harvester. He returned to spend Christmas with Mr Edwards and his wife, Yvonne.

When a tractor broke down, Mr Edwards drove another vehicle to tow it for repairs, and William sat in the cab to steer it. But somehow the vehicle and tractor both overturned and William sustained fatal injuries.

His father said: "I understand it was a freak accident, and there is no explanation yet as to what caused it. An inquest is to be held and that may reveal the reason."

He and his wife are still undecided about the funeral, but William may be cremated in Australia and his ashes sent for burial in Teesdale.

The tragedy happened almost 21 years to the day since Mr Betton's twin, Peter, was killed, aged 30, by a charging elephant in Zimbabwe.

Mr Betton said: "It is strange that my son has been killed on almost the same date."