THE family of two sisters killed in a horror smash have told of their devastating loss on the first anniversary of the deaths.

Lucy Breakwell, 21, and her sister Catherine, 15, died when their car crashed into a tree after a 'site closed' sign was placed in Easton Lane, Portland, last September.

The island community which was shocked by the tragedy paid tribute to the sisters by attending a midnight vigil at the crash scene and laying messages of remembrance there exactly a year after the fatal accident.

Mother Karen Breakwell has thanked Portlanders for keeping her daughters' memories alive and spoken of her frustration at the ongoing court cases of two teenagers charged with endangering road users by putting the sign into the road.

She said: "The pain and sadness of losing my girls in such a tragic way is not getting any easier as I just can't believe they are dead.

"Not only have Catherine and Lucy been robbed of their futures, I have been left with a huge gap in my life that can never ever be filled.

"The small shred of comfort I do get is support from family and friends, honouring the memory of Catherine and Lucy."

Mrs Breakwell, who now lives in Spain, added: "The grief of losing not one but two of my children is indescribable but what makes it harder to bear is the ongoing court proceedings that does not allow me to tell my story or to speak with the perpetrators, which is all I have ever wanted from the start."

She said her 'pain, sorrow, anger and despair' was too deep to return to the island for the remembrance ceremony.

The Breakwell sisters' aunt Sue Gosnold, 52, from Wolverhampton, and cousin Kate Gosnold, 27, who lives in Hertfordshire, travelled to Portland for the vigil.

They also handed out Road Peace leaflets bearing pictures of Lucy and Catherine to passers-by in Easton Square.

The women issued a joint statement which read: "The past year has been very hard for all who knew and loved Catherine and Lucy.

"The remembrance weekend highlighted the devastation the events of September has had on so many people's lives."

They added: "This outpouring of emotion, the floral tributes, cards, letters and poems gave us some comfort knowing that the girls are not and never will be forgotten.

"We would like to thank all the people who came to the midnight vigil at the tree and to the many who came to visit over the weekend.

"Your presence was very important to us."

The cases of the two teenagers charged with endangering road users cannot go ahead until a date is set for a High Court appeal of a ruling that there was no case to answer for one of the defendants, said a Crown Prosecution spokesman.