THE heartbroken mother of 19-year-old Xana Doyle who lost her life in a car crash on Friday has paid tribute to her daughter who was “the life and soul of everything”.

Emma O’Donoghue, 40, said Xana, of Newport, was “funny, kind and loving” and will be greatly missed by her grief-stricken family and friends.

The former Duffryn High School pupil died in a one-vehicle crash on Friday morning in Usk Way in Newport.

She was one of three passengers, along with 15-year-old Liliana Breeds, from Duffryn, who suffered head injuries and a fractured wrist after the car came off the road just next to the George Street Bridge.

Xana’s step-father Tony Borg, a trainer at St Joseph’s Amateur Boxing Club, said the family knew Xana was popular but since her death had found that she had an “endless line of friends”.

Bouquets of flowers with cards now line the road at the scene of the crash.

The teenager had recently began working at Wetherspoons as a cook and was also a trained beautician after completing an apprenticeship.

Miss O’Donoghue, a student nurse, said: “She loved being out, she was the life and soul of everything.

“She loved being with her friends, there’s 11 of them in her group, they call themselves The Tribe. There are a really close group of friends and do lots of things together.

“She was just fun to be around. She’d help anybody, if anybody was being picked on she’d be there to sort it out.”

Miss O’Donoghue said she and Xana’s siblings, 21-year-old Lauren Doyle, and Eve and Zain Smith, aged 13 and 14, are “devastated” by her death but have been comforted by the tributes and messages they have received.

Miss O’Donoghue added: “I still can’t believe that I will never see the beautiful face of my daughter again.

“Xana was a funny, kind and loving daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin and friend.

“She was never without a smile, a kind word or injection of fun to the people she met.

“I would like to thank those who have left tributes, send messages and are keeping Xana in their thoughts.

“It is a great comfort to know that she touched the lives of so many people, who also have wonderful memories of her.

“She will be greatly missed by her heartbroken family and friends, but never forgotten.”

Miss O’Donoghue added some of the speculation online into what happened has been “disrespectful” and difficult for Xana’s siblings to see.

She added: “She’s a nice person and people are just looking to have their five minutes when they don’t know what happened."