Tributes have been paid to a great grandmother who sadly died after being hit by a lorry in Hockley.

Sylvia Jean Hart, 81, from Hockley, died from multiple injuries following the serious crash in Spa Road at around 12.40pm on Tuesday August 27.

In a tribute, Sylvia Hart’s daughter, Kim Simmonds, said: “Sylvia was a bright and vibrant character.

“She was always the joker in the room, leaving great long lasting impressions on everyone connected to her.

“Sylvia will be deeply missed by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as the many friends she met throughout her life.

“We all loved her dearly and she will always be remembered for her down to earth and bubbly personality.

“The family would like to say thank you to everybody for their sympathy and words of kindness.

“We ask that at this sad time we would respect privacy to grieve together as a family and remember all the happy memories that we have of her."

Emergency services rushed to the scene and the road was closed for several hours while forensic examination was carried out.

Essex Police arrested a 68-year-old man from Wickford on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.

He has since been released under investigation while police enquiries continue.

Earlier this week, an inquest into Sylvia's death opened at Essex Coroner's Court in Chelmsford.

A post mortem examination, which was carried out by Dr Simon Payne at Southend Hospital, gave a provisional cause of death as head and chest injuries.

The inquest hearing was adjourned and a full inquest is expected to take place at the same court on October 29.

Essex Police continue to appeal for witnesses to the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call our Serious Collisions Investigations Team on 101 quoting incident 503 of 27/08.

You can also report information online by visiting www.essex.police.uk/do-it-online.