THE best friend of car crash victim Andy Snook has paid tribute to "a fantastic friend and a great bloke". Forty-year-old snooker player Mr Snook and his 37-year-old wife Trudi tragically died following a head-on collision at Linchmere, near Liphook on Saturday afternoon. Mrs Snook was six-and-a-half months pregnant. The couple were travelling to their home in Hammer Hill in their Renault Megane on the B2131 just after 5.30pm when their car collided with a BMW. They were pronounced dead at the scene. Police haven't named the 33-year-old driver of the BMW, his passenger, or a 14-year-old child injured in the accident. Mr Snook, a lorry driver who previously lived in Bordon, had two children from a previous marriage, and was said to be "thrilled" at the prospect of his third child with Mrs Snook, a furniture designer. Both Mr Snook, an active member of Petersfield Bowling and Snooker Club in St Peter's Road, and his wife were well known to fellow club member and Petersfield man Kevin Andrews. "I've known Andy for 20-odd years, man and boy," he said. "They were a lovely couple and he was just a great bloke. Couldn't fault him." "I haven't really taken it in," he added, "and I don't think I will for a while. He will be sorely missed. "I've been up to the crash site and put flowers there, as some other people have done. "He was a fantastic friend, and a good friend of my family. He taught my daughter to swim in the paddling pool. "We took it in turns to go to each other's houses once a month and cook a meal, and most weekends we'd be over there, or vice versa," he said. Members of Petersfield Bowling and Snooker Club were said to be "shocked" when they heard the news. The couple were travelling home from the club after helping to build a new kitchen. A sombre minute's silence was held in the club on Monday, and a poignant sign on the club noticeboard reads: "Trudi and Andy. Absent Friends." Mr Andrews continued his memories of Mr Snook. "We've been friends since we were teenagers," he said. "Girlfriends came along, then we started fishing, and then snooker became a big part of our lives. "I was playing snooker with him on Friday. We used to play for a pound a frame. "We played in the Midhurst League, and our team won division two in 2006. Andy was the captain last year. "I've got a lot of memories. Andy helped decorate my house and do the garden, and when we used to ride motorbikes together, if there were any problems with the bikes or a car, he'd fix it. That's just the sort of bloke he was. Generally a happy- go-lucky chap." "He was always involved with the club too and we are going to try to do something annually to remember him and Trudi," he said.
