COLLEAGUES in Devizes have sent a message of support for solicitor Tim Prees after his ten-year-old daughter Jemima was killed in a skiing accident.

The youngster was killed after losing control at the Mayrhofen resort in Austria, where she was staying with family, who live in Colerne.

Witnesses say the girl was unable to stop after skiing into an off-piste area and hit the tree. She was flown to a hospital in Innsbruck by helicopter within minutes of Sunday’s accident, but later died.

Police in Mayrhofen said the family was on the last run of the day when the girl went into woodland and was knocked unconscious at the resort near Tirol, in Austria.

Mr Prees’ colleagues at the Devizes office of Wansbroughs were shocked at the news.

Wansbroughs chairmamn Stuart McGregor-Johnson, said: “The news of this terrible tragedy has been received with great sadness by all of Tim’s colleagues at Wansbroughs.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Tim, Karen and their family at this time.”

Mr Prees, 50, and her brother Barnaby, a university student, both witnessed the accident and attempted to administer first aid on the scene.

Witnesses said Mrs Prees, 46, a GP, had returned to the bottom of the mountain by cable car so was not there to see the horror accident.

It is unknown whether the girl’s sisters, Annabel and Olivia were also on the family holiday.

The family were still in Austria yesterday. They are expected to return home before the weekend.

Mr Prees is a lawyer specialising in Personal Dispute Resolution and Employment Law. He qualified in Bath in 1988 and practiced at two large commercial practices in Bristol before joining Wansbroughs in Devizes, Wilts, in 1997 and became a partner in 2006.

Mrs Prees studied medicine at the University of Bristol and has worked as a GP partner for 15 years in Batheaston.

All of the family members are part of the Colerne Amateur Operatic Society who recently put on a pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Jemima went to Calder House School, near Colerne.

A friend of Mr Prees, who did not wish to be named, said the tragedy had hit one of the “loveliest families”.

He said: “They were such a lovely family, which makes this tragedy even harder to take.”