The American ash fell without warning where Carolyn Thorpe and her daughter Sarah Wright, 34, had been sitting for a mid-morning coffee in the historic port of Brouage, on the Bay of Biscay, last Friday.

The younger woman suffered fractures, spinal injuries and bruising, but her wounds were not life-threatening and she was back in England this week making good progress.

Officials said the 200-year-old tree, planted to mark the birth of Napoleon I's son, was more than four metres in diameter and between six and seven metres in height. Police said its base appeared fragile and the question of whether to maintain the part of the town's heritage had been discussed recently.

A shopkeeper whose premises is opposite the cafe told French sources: "There was a huge boom, like a bomb - I thought it was an attack. The tree was completely rotten - we warned city hall."

Mayor of the ancient walled port, Jean-Pierre Martinet, said the ash had been a "historic monument", adding that it was assessed last year and "everyone thought it would hold on a little longer".

Mrs Thorpe, who had been holidaying with her son-in-law and two grandchildren, was a "proud and devoted mother and grandmother," said her husband Ian this week.

She was described as "a pillar of the Charlecote community" by district ward councillor Richard Hobbs. He added that the resident of 30 years and secretary at St Leonard's Church was an "active and very likeable" participant in village events who never said no to lending a hand.

Church warden Edmund Fairfax-Lucy echoed those sentiments. He said: "Her father Bill Walters was a former vicar at St Leonard's in the early 1970s and I know the family was a very happy one. Whenever there was fundraising to do she was there, and if anything needed doing she was one of those 'people who would'."

Fellow warden Susan Lampitt knew Mrs Thorpe for 30 years. She said her friend and Mr Thorpe had made a formidable team in the campaign to raise funds to renovate the Grade I-listed church. Mrs Thorpe was also involved in the local branch of the Women's Institute and the Children's Society, of which she was a member of the Stratford committee for more than 20 years.
Mrs Lampitt added: "She was good fun, lively, outgoing and a great cook and hostess, with a wide circle of friends and lots of enthusiasms. To the lonely and frail or elderly she was very good at giving help without being the least bit ostentatious - one of those people who made life better for everyone she came across. It is such a sad loss.

"She lived life outwards, at the heart of everything positive, and the whole village is numbed by her death. Perhaps a tribute to her might simply be the number of people this sad news has affected. She was such a capable and likeable person."

Mrs Thorpe leaves husband Ian, a retired naval officer and governor at Warwick School, her daughter Sarah and sons James and Robert - both ex-pupils of the private school. It is understood one of the sons learned of the accident while on honeymoon in Bali. She also leaves grandchildren Poppy, seven, and four-year-old Freddie.

Mr Thorpe flew out to France last week with brother Geoff, a senior partner at Avonvale Veterinary Centres.

A family-only funeral will be held at St Leonard's, with a memorial service planned for a month's time.

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