An inquest into the death of a 27-year-old who was one of three people freed from a car after a horror crash on the A140 has opened.

Katerina Kostadinova, from Ipswich, was in the back seat of a silver Volkswagen Golf which collided with a Peugeot Boxer van on the A140 at Stoke Ash, near the junction on Church Lane, at around 5am on July 6.

Ms Kostadinova, who was born in Burgas, Bulgaria, was freed from the vehicle by firefighters alongside the driver and another passenger.

Despite receiving medical help at the scene, she was sadly pronounced dead.

The driver and front seat passenger of the Volkswagen, both men, were taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, where they were treated for their injuries.

The driver sustained life-changing injuries and the passenger sustained serious injuries that are not believed to be life-changing.

The male driver of the van who was also cut free from his vehicle was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in Norwich for treatment for serious injuries that were also not believed to be life-changing.

He was later discharged from hospital.

A crowdfunding campaign ‘Katerina Kostadinova Repatriation and Funeral Cost’ was set up to help family members repatriate Ms Kostadinova’s body.

The fund reached $4,610 which helped her family bring her body back to her home town of Burgas in Bulgaria.

In a post on the Gofundme page, the Kostadinova family said: “We would like to express our thanks to all the kind, good and sympathetic people for the great moral and financial support you have given us for the loss of our girl.

“She will always be 27-years-old with her infectious smile and positivism, loved by many people.

“Thanks to all of you, she will be able to board her last flight to her native land, where she will be buried by her relatives, and friends.”

At the time of the crash, local vicar the Reverend Canon Julia Lall, rector of South Hartismere Benefice, said: “My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved with the crash.

“They are not just with the person who sadly died, as there are others who have suffered life-changing injuries.”