Twins killed in holiday crash 'had special bond'

A community rocked by a crash that killed an entire family on holiday in Portugal has described the "special bond" shared by the twin brothers who died.

Domingos and Afonso Serrano, 20, along with their parents Domingos, 55, Maria, 51, and a young woman who had been with them, died on Saturday, the Municipal Council of Mourão said.

The family, who were living in Thetford, Norfolk, were driving in Faro, in the Algarve, when their car collided with another vehicle on the IP2 main road in Castro Verde. A man in the other car also died.

Alex Marcao, said the brothers were "always together... if you saw one twin, the other was right there."

Mr Marcao, a barber at Max The Barber in Thetford, had cut Afonso's hair the day before the fatal crash.

"They were such kind people," he said. "Even Maria and Domingos; always laughing, just very nice people."

Family friend Jaden Jermy, who grew up with the twins, said he "couldn't believe" news of the fatal crash.

"They [Afonso and Domingos] were very quiet when they were younger, but when they found football they sort of found their voice." he said.

"They were always together and they were just so funny."

Thetford Town Football Club paid tribute to the family and said the twins had been "integral" to their U18 team in recent years.

The town is home to a large Portuguese community and Kirsty Turner, club secretary of youth football team Thetford Bulldogs FC, said news of their deaths had hit it town hard.

"The family have lived in Thetford for a long time; I know quite a few of their relations. Always a happy-go-lucky family and very memorable," she said.

Carla Barreto, mayor of Thetford said: "It's hard enough when a community loses a member, or a young person, but to lose a whole family in one go was devastating.

"It's something that really digs deep."

The Serrano family were living in Thetford, but were not believed to be British nationals, the UK Foreign Office said.

A spokesperson from the Municipal Council of Mourão decreed two days of mourning from Sunday, following the incident.

It said all activities and events promoted by the municipality would be cancelled throughout the weekend.

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