Tributes to devoted parents who died in Cambridgeshire crash that daughters survived

Tributes have been paid to two “utterly devoted” parents who died after a crash in Fenland which left their daughters orphaned.

The couple have now been named by police as Robert Bateman, 36 and known as Bob, and his wife Paula Bateman, 35, of Westfield Road, Manea near March.

Their two daughters, Lexi aged 10, and 18-month-old Elizabeth, were also in the car but survived the head-on collision.The family's Ford Focus was in collision with an Iveco Daily van on the A142 between Chatteris and Mepal just after 8pm.

Emergency services attended but Bob Bateman, who was driving the Ford Focus, and his wife Paula, who was sitting in the back seat, died at the scene.

It was initially thought that both girls, who were taken to hospital, suffered minor injuries. However, further hospital checks revealed that Lexi suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. Both girls have since been discharged from hospital.

In a statement, Bob and Paula’s family paid tribute to the couple.

The van driver suffered minor injuries. The 32-year-old man from Lincoln was subsequently arrested on suspicion of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, and driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs.

He remains in custody at Thorpe Wood Police Station this afternoon.

Anyone who saw the collision or the vehicles in the lead up to it, or has dash cam footage, is urged to contact police via web chat or by calling 101, quoting incident number 478 of 3 September.