FUNDRAISER Denise Rugg has died from her injuries following a car accident in which her husband Richard was also killed.

Mrs Rugg, 81, of Millbourne Park, near Malmesbury, died at Bath's Royal United Hospital last Wednesday night.

Her husband, also aged 81, died after being rushed to Bristol's Frenchay Hospital following the accident outside the Dyson factory on May 22.

Mourners who gathered last Thursday for Mr Rugg's funeral at Westerleigh Crematorium, near Yate, were informed of his wife's death and the service went ahead as a joint tribute.

Grandmother Mrs Rugg was a member of The Arthritis Research Campaign for Wootton Bassett and District and also belonged to the Malmesbury branch of the British Heart Foundation, as well as the town's garden club and Malmesbury Theatre Club.

Members of ARC held a minute's silence in her memory at a golden jubilee coffee morning in the town on Saturday.

Mrs Rugg's daughter, Andrea Clark, 56, and her husband David, 55, who live in Cirencester, said the family were struggling to come to terms with the loss.

She said her mother was a quiet, well-liked woman who never said a bad word about anybody.

"She was unique and she was a lady," said Mrs Clark. "She also gave so much time to charity, that was her thing."

The Ruggs were returning home from shopping at Somerfield in Gloucester Road, Malmesbury, when the accident happened.

At 10.50am, Mr Rugg's Peugeot was in collision with a white Renault Kangoo van driven by a Chippenham computer consultant who is also called Dave Clark.

"It is just like a great big hole where you cannot see the bottom," said Mrs Rugg's daughter.

"They were there the previous Monday, and they have always been there, and for them suddenly not to be with us is more indescribable than words can say."

The Ruggs met in the RAF at Station X in Bletchley during the Second World War, where Mrs Rugg was a code-breaker for the Armed Services.

She had been at university in Heidelburg, Germany, when war broke out.

Mr Rugg worked for Plessy's Communications, which later became Square D and the couple moved to Wootton Bassett from Ilford in 1954.

Mrs Rugg worked as a receptionist at the Tinkers Lane doctor's surgery in Wootton Bassett.

She was a member of the town's WI, which has closed, but she continued to meet with WI friends at Wootton Bassett's Royal British Legion hall.

She was also a founder member of Wootton Bassett Townswomen's Guild, while she and her husband maintained an involvement with the Wootton Bassett Historical Society.

The Ruggs moved to Brinkworth in 1969 and then to Little Somerford, where they belonged to the village hall committee and Mr Rugg belonged to the village's short mat bowls club.

In 1996 they moved to Millbourne Park near Malmesbury.

The Rev Guy Oswald, of St John The Baptist Church in Little Somerford, took the service at Westerleigh Crematorium. He is also taking a family service at the crematorium at 3pm tomorrow. A community service is also planned in Little Somerford.

The Rugg's daughter and son-in-law have thanked friends for the support they have received.

"We have been inundated with people sending us flowers and cards and trying to be of support to my wife, but generally we are just shell-shocked and going from day to day," said Mr Clark.

Corsham Traffic Police are now investigating the accident and an inquest will be opened.