A former sub-editor who worked for the Somerset County Gazette has died in a car accident, aged 23.

Tom Smith had worked for Newsquest (Somerset) in its central subbing department based in Taunton.

He joined the company in June 2005, working on the group's eight titles, and his duties included editing the sports pages of the Chard & Ilminster News.

He left last summer to pursue a career in retail, joining Lidl as a trainee manager in Taunton, recently transferring to Chard.

Ken Bird, editor-in-chief of Newsquest (Somerset), said news of Tom's death had come as a shock.

He said: "Tom was a hard-working and popular member of our team.

"He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him."

Tom died when his Ford Ka was in collision with a VW Passat.

He had been driving home from work and sustained serious head injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tom's other interests included sport, while he also completed a course teaching people how to lead groups on walks in the wild and first aid.

His funeral service is due to take place on Monday.