HUNDREDS of mourners gathered for the funeral of a Basingstoke woman who was tragically killed in a van crash in Tasmania, Australia.

Family and friends of Gemma Shayler-Appleton joined together at a special ceremony for the 35-yearold mother-oftwo in Western Creek, near the Great Western Tiers Mountains in the Meander Valley.

Mrs Shayler-Appleton, who attended Cranbour n e Business and Enter pris e College and Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) before moving to Tasmania 10 years ago, and her young family and friends were driving back from a summer solstice celebration when she was hit by a van while standing outside her car, according to Tasmanian police.

She had been in the car with her husband Stephen Shayler-Appleton, 38, and two daughters – Willow Moon, eight, and six year-old Autumn Rain.

She passed away on December 21.

Her funeral took place on January 7, on land belonging to organic fruit farmer Tim Doyle – a family friend who let the couple build their first home on the land.

The burial site, in an area of woodland, was prepared by members of Mrs Shayler-Appleton’s family.

Mrs Shayler-Appleton was laid to rest in soil brought from her garden in Kimberley, Tasmania.

Mrs Shayler-Appleton’s brother Brett Shayler, 44, said: “She had a beauty that shone from the inside and an ability to bring joy and laughter to any situation.”

“She could not have been christened with a more appropriate name. She was an absolute little Gem.”

Mrs Shayler-Appleton married Stephen in 2004 in a special druid wedding on the island of Hoy, Orkney.

A keen beauty technician, she and Stephen decided to travel the world before settling in Tasmania.

Friend Kellie Sweet Baird said: “We met at BCoT in 1997 and back then little did I know how she would shape my life and guide me like no other.

“Gem’s gentle soul taught me it’s OK to just be yourself, even if it means you don’t quite fit in or people laugh. She knew her pathway in life and felt enormously confident.”