THE husband of a mother-of-two who died in a road collision in Levens has said she made family life ‘an adventure’ and will be sorely missed.

Michelle Jurd, of Grange-over-Sands, died after her Citroen car she was driving was in collision with an articulated lorry driven by a local man on the A590 at Gilpin Bridge at 6pm on Wednesday evening.

Mrs Jurd - who had had a high flying career with the RAF and served in Kosvo, Iraq and Northern Ireland - and her two children Matilda, four, and Elsa, two, had to be cut free by fire-fighters.

The 41-year-old studied Biology at Nottingham University and then gained entry into the RAF College Cranwell where she trained to be an officer and became the first female officer to qualify as a navigator on Puma aircraft.

She had a successful career rising to the rank of Squadron Leader.

Mrs Jurd had been married to her husband Neil for 13 years after meeting him when her operational service began in Belize in 1993, while he was also a serving army officer.

He said: “Michelle was a wonderful and committed mother, who made family life an adventure.

"Family weekends were spent hill walking, canoeing or cycling and Michelle was always the inspiration behind these adventures.

"Immensely kind, generous, caring and thoughtful, Michelle was a talented musician, a capable artist, an incredible cook and a superb interior designer.

“She was an inspring person to know, with a smile that could light up any room.

"She will be sorely missed by her many family and friends," he added.

Tributes have poured in, many of which praised her skill and professionalism with the RAF, where she was a Squadron Leader based at RAF Benson, Oxfordshire.

One described her as a ‘fantastic person’.

Anne Kerr, of Levens, knew Mrs Jurd as their daughters went to ballet lessons together.

“She was a wonderful mother,” she said.

Mrs Jurd landed landed fighting troops deep into enemy areas in Iraq and Kosovo and while in Iraq her Commanding Officer was hugely impressed by her bravery when, in an intense sandstorm, she led an operation deep into enemy territory to recover soldiers likely to be overrun by the enemy.

She also spent two years working as a navigation instructor for young officers learning to fly Puma helicopters.

Her patience and dedication ensured that a generation of young officers were well prepared for the wars in which they now find themselves fighting.

After the birth of Matilda, Michelle left the Royal Air Force and concentrated on bringing up a young family and in 2008, the family moved to Grange-over-Sands in 2008.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police on 0845-3300247.