THE family of a devoted dad who was killed after his van plunged off the Brighton bypass has won an £185,000 pay-out.

Paul Thorpe, 30, died after the van he was a passenger in smashed through a crash barrier and dived 30ft to the dual carriageway below.

The accident happened after the van's driver swerved to avoid a car which had suffered a sudden blow-out near the University of Sussex at Falmer.

The barrier had been put up only 18 months before the crash in October 1993. It was claimed at the time welding on the barriers could have been faulty.

Mr Thorpe's common-law wife Owena, 33, of Florence Avenue, Hove, sued the Department of Transport, which was responsible for the flyover, claiming the barrier was defective.

The DoT denied responsibility and blamed the contractors responsible for building the flyover in the early Nineties, Amey Construction and Walkway Contracting Co Ltd.

At the High Court yesterday, Mrs Thorpe's counsel, Mr Allan Gore, said all three defendants had agreed to settle the claim for £185,000 without admitting liability.

From that amount, £15,000 will be invested in court for their sons Alex, 16, Zacki, eight, and Ryan, seven, until they are 18.

Mr Justice Elias told Mrs Thorpe: "This must be very distressing for you. I am sorry the procedures have taken such a very long time.

"I have three sons myself and I hope this settlement will make life easier for you."

Mrs Thorpe was still in London and unavailable for comment last night.

Van driver Alan Greenfield, from Whitehawk, who suffered severe head and chest injuries in the accident, told the 1995 inquest the barrier rippled and buckled along its length before it gave way.

In a bid to improve safety, East Sussex County Council has since placed concrete barriers at the edges of all five bridges on the £60m bypass.

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