'Devoted' British couple are killed in Norway car crash on church visit - as elderly parents pay tribute

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:31, 18 June 2026 | Updated: 20:33, 18 June 2026 A 'devoted' couple who 'loved to travel' have been killed in a car crash while on holiday in Norway. Andrew Laverty, 63, and his wife Tina, 58, are believed to have been visiting a church in the Oslo area when the tragedy unfolded at around 3pm last Friday. Mrs Laverty's heartbroken parents, Pat and Mick Auger, both 81, from Stetchworth, Cambridgeshire, have now paid tribute to the loving couple. Mrs Auger said: 'We still can't believe it. We keep thinking we will wake up and it will all have been a bad dream.  'They were devoted to each other and did everything together. I don't think they could have lived without each other.' She said her daughter had been brought up in the bungalow the couple had built and where they still live.  Mrs Laverty went to the village primary school and Bottisham Village College before joining Premier Travel in Newmarket as a travel consultant after leaving college. She later worked for Hogg Robinson Travel and managed a travel agency in Exeter Road.  Andrew Laverty, 63, and his wife Tina, 58, (pictured) are believed to have been visiting a church while on holiday in Norway when they were killed in a car crash last Friday Most recently she had been working for TWI engineering consultancy in Cambridge managing all its travel needs. Mrs Auger said: 'Tina always loved travel and so did Andy. They had been all over the world together travelling to New Zealand, Australia and Thailand, and they took us to Canada and America. As soon as they got back from one trip they were planning the next one. 'This was the second time they had been to Norway. Tina was so happy when she rang us the day before the accident and so excited.  'She said she would ring us again when they got back to the hotel but that was the last we heard.' Mrs Auger said the couple, who had been together for about 30 years, always came for lunch with them on Sunday before her daughter drove Andrew to work at the Bedford Lodge where he had been an employee for ten years. The grieving mother said of Mr Laverty: 'He was a wonderful son-in-law.' Her husband, Mrs Laverty's father, added: 'He was more like a son to me and Tina was a real dad's girl.  'At the moment I just keep crying, I just can't believe they have gone.' German-born and hailing originally from the spa town of Baden-Baden, Mr Laverty was a familiar face in the Newmarket area having previously worked at the Heath Court Hotel, Il Piccolo Mondo restaurant in Bottisham, the former Quartet restaurant in Newmarket High Street and the King's Head in Dullingham where Mrs Auger also worked for 20 years. She first met her son-in-law there and introduced him to her daughter when she asked him to translate a letter her husband, a well-known breeder and judge of fancy pigeons, had received from a German pigeon fancier. Mrs Auger said: 'That was the start and we just adored both of them. I don't know what we are going to do without them. Our lives are not going to be the same again.' Noel Byrne, chief executive at Bedford Lodge, said everyone at the hotel and spa had been left deeply saddened by the loss of Mr and Mrs Laverty. 'Andrew was a highly respected and much-loved member of our restaurant team, known for his professionalism, warmth and dedication to delivering exceptional hospitality to our guests. 'He was always the perfect gentleman. Andrew will be greatly missed by his colleagues and guests and by many customers who knew him from the restaurants he worked in, in and around Newmarket. 'Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with Andrew and Tina's family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.  'Our immediate focus is on supporting our team who are devastated by this and respecting the privacy of the family as they come to terms with this huge loss.' Mrs Laverty's parents said they had received support from their friends, whom Mr Auger said had been marvellous, and from their fellow villagers in Stetchworth. The Daily Mail has approached the Foreign Office for comment.   No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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