THE NEIGHBOURS of tragic accident victims Eric and Marion Walsh have paid tribute to the couple.

The Bailiff Bridge couple, who were in their 90s, died on Monday when their Skoda Octavia was in collision with a Kia car on the A649 Halifax Road, near Cleckheaton.

They were returning from their weekly shopping trip and cafe stop in Scholes when the accident happened near the Stafford Arms pub.

Owner of Cafe CC on Tabbs Lane in Scholes, Cengiz Catal, said the couple had been coming in regularly since November.

He said: “They left here and were going home.

“We were very surprised and shocked to hear about the accident. We were the last ones to see them.

“They were a nice couple. We offer our condolences to the family.”

Former Calderdale Mayor Graham Carr-Reason and his wife Rita were neighbours of the couple in Kenilworth Drive, Bailiff Bridge, for years and said they were shocked to hear of the accident.

Mr Carr-Reason said: “It is quite devastating. They were devoted to each other.

“The only good thing to come of this, if one can say that, is that they went together.

“They have gone too soon but no time is a good time.”

They said the first they knew of the accident was when they returned home about 6pm and saw a police car in the Walshes’ drive and a neighbour told them what had happened.

Mrs Carr-Reason said: “We were very shocked. It was devastating. We always got on, they were good neighbours.

“They were very friendly and talked to everybody.”

They said they were very quiet but that Mr Walsh, 93, would come down the road for a chat if he saw them in the garden.

Mr Carr-Reason added: “He was a good driver. He knew a lot about cars, I think he had a role in the Army.”

They said Mr and Mrs Walsh had a daughter called Carol who was in her 60s and lived in sheltered housing on the edge of the Lake District.

They said the couple were in generally good health but that Mrs Walsh, 90, was injured by a falling post in the cul-de-sac where they lived last year and injured her feet. She was laid up for quite a long time but was walking again when she was recovered.

Other neighbours said the couple generally kept themselves to themselves.

The couple, who did not want to be named, said they know the road where the accident happened well and were on it just 15 minutes beforehand.

They said the A649 was not particularly dangerous and only had a 40mph speed limit so was quite a slow road but some people did speed on it.

They said Mr Walsh seemed a steady driver.

Another neighbour Michael Shannon said the Walshes were a nice gentle couple and quiet.

He said it was tragic news.

The driver of the Kia suffered injuries described as serious but not thought to be life threatening.

Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the collision or anyone who saw either vehicles driving in the area to contact police.

The Major Collision Enquiry Team would also like to hear from anyone who has dashcam footage of the incidents or of the moments prior to the collision.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting log number 717 of February 4.