A Witham mother whose 21-year-old daughter was killed in a car crash three years ago has been given 'the best New Year present ever' - a video tape of her, which she did not know existed.

For 50-year-old Rose Page, of Samphire Close, viewing the moving images of her daughter, Sharron on the four minutes of video tape is "a dream come true."

"It's absolutely fantastic, no-one could have given me a better New Year present," she says.

Incredibly, the video footage, taken by Rose of Sharron, lay jammed in the camcorder for almost three years.

"The camcorder had been a 21st birthday present for Sharron.

''I gave it to family friend, Neil Ramsden, of Maldon, in 1998 after Sharron's death the previous year," explains Rose.

"'I didn't know there was anything in it. I had totally forgotten we shot just a few minutes of film on the recorder.

"On January 2 Neil came round and left a message for me to contact him urgently. When I went round to his house, he told me to sit down, prepare myself and then played the video.

"I simply couldn't believe it, the first time I saw it, I cried uncontrollably, and Neil and my friend, Angie, who was with me were also in tears. It didn't even register that I had taken the shots myself.

''Then, as I watched it again, I remembered and, this time, they were tears of joy."

Neil said: "After Rose gave me the camcorder, I put it in a drawer and left it. Quite honestly, I almost gave it away, because I couldn't see myself using it. Then this New Year, I tried to use it, but the tape was jammed and wouldn't let me over record it.

"I put the tape into a standard video cassette, and just played it for interest to see what it was. I was totally dumbstruck and reduced to tears.

"I played it several times, partly because I had difficulty in believing what I was seeing and secondly to assess what I should do with it. It was a difficult choice. Would I make life more difficult for Rose by giving her the tape, or better?

"In the end I decided it was hers and she should have it. I think it was the right decision."

Rose's brother Sid Quattrucci of Greenway Gardens, Braintree, also watched the tape.

"The images of Sharron are her to a 't'. They catch her gestures and vitality. It will be a real help to Rose," he said.

Since Sharron's death on January 16, 1997 in a road accident on the B1018 near Cressing Temple Barns, Rose has won a safety campaign to warn drivers of the road hazards there. She has also sought solace through mediums and clairvoyants.

"All I wanted was some form of contact with Sharron, and this has at least brought her to life on the screen," she says.

Rose Page watches the video of her daughter, Sharron.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.