'˜Alex had a brilliant future which has been sadly taken away'

Tributes have poured in for a Binbrook teenager and his friend who were killed in a road traffic collision on the Lincoln bypass just three days before Christmas.

Alex Ross, from Binbrook, and his friend Sian Chambers, both 19, died after their Ford Mondeo estate collided with a Citroen C3 on the A46 in the early hours of December 22.

Alex and Sian played double bass with the Lincolnshire Youth Symphony Orchestra.

In a statement released by police, Alex’s family said: “Alex was an extremely talented musician. He was a former pupil at Caistor Grammar School where he won a scholarship to the Purcell School of Music in London.

“A double bass player, he was training at the Royal Academy of Music, also in London, where he was a second year student.

“He had a brilliant future ahead of him which has been sadly taken away.”

Head of Strings at the Royal Academy of Music, Professor Jo Cole, described Alex as someone she would remember fondly.

She saidAlex was ‘a dedicated student and had a significant talent, with a marvellous dry sense of humour.’

She added: “I will miss him very much.”

Professor Cole also had this message for Alex’s fellow students.

She said: “Alex’s family have asked that you keep Alex in your thoughts as you play and remember him in that way, and by making the most of the opportunities that he will now never have.”

Alex’s friends took to social media to express their ‘heartbreak’ at the news.

One friend wrote: “Alex.. This really breaks my heart.

“You were an incredible person and a wonderful friend. So sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye.

“Thank you for being there for me throughout the year at Royal Academy, for all the amazing laughs we had and for the wonderful last memories at my birthday party. I will miss you so incredibly much.”

Another friend posted: “It’s hard to explain how this has affected me. I have never been so shocked and so devastated in my life. I miss you man!”

Ms Chambers’ parents felt unable to release a statement although her father David put a picture of the pair on his Facebook page saying: ‘Two Lovely Young People’.

Investigations are still ongoing into the RTC which happened on the A46 between the Carholme and Skellingthorpe roundabouts.

The driver of the Citroen C3, a 26-year-old local man, left the scene but was later traced and arrested for causing death by dangerous driving, providing a positive breath test and leaving the scene of a collision.

He was later released 
from custody under investigation.

l Lincolnshire Police are still keen to hear from anyone who believes they may have seen the Citroen C3 before the collision, or the collision itself.

They also want to speak to anyone who thinks they may have seen the white Citroen in and around Lincoln before around 12.45am.

If you can help, call the police on 101, quoting incident 18 of December 22.