Sri Lanka attacks: Manchester woman confirmed as eighth Briton killed Published duration 24 April 2019 Related Topics Sri Lanka Easter bombings

image copyright Campbell family/Facebook image caption Lorraine Campbell, 55, was an IT director at UAE automotive firm, Al-Futtaim

A woman from Greater Manchester has been confirmed as the eighth British victim killed in a wave of bombings in Sri Lanka.

IT director Lorraine Campbell, 55, was staying at Colombo's Cinnamon Grand Hotel on a business trip when she died.

She worked for Dubai-based Al-Futtaim. Her family said her death would leave an "enormous void".

Ms Campbell's husband, Neil Evans, said he had lost his "best friend in the world for all adventures".

Mr Evans said his wife was a "real tour de force" and was a "conduit for bringing people together to both make things happen and make them better."

media caption Sri Lanka attacks: Son wants to 'bring mum home'

A senior executive at UAE automotive firm Al-Futtaim emailed staff to say Ms Campbell had "tragically lost her life".

'Heavy heart'

The email to staff read: "It is with a heavy heart I inform you that two of our colleagues were caught up in Sunday's terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

"Both were in Sri Lanka on business travel. Lorraine tragically lost her life."

The other employee, Juno Srivastava, from India, has been officially listed as missing, the firm added.

image copyright Campbell Family image caption Ms Campbell's husband Neil Evans said he had lost his "best friend in the world for all adventures"

Ms Campbell's son, Mark, said his mother was "inspiring".

"She was very strong, very independent. But the one thing that kind of struck out for me throughout my entire life was she was a leader… she would never leave anyone behind type thing," he added.

He said his stepfather had first been informed she was missing, adding: "He was texting her when she was in the restaurant in the morning and then the texts stopped. Then the report came out, he put two and two together, same hotel."

image copyright Reuters image caption Lorraine Campbell was on a business trip in Sri Lanka, where people have held a mass in memory of the victims

The Islamic State group (IS) has said it was responsible for the attacks - which targeted churches and high-end hotels - although it has not provided direct evidence of its involvement.

The death toll rose again to 359 on Wednesday, with more than 500 people wounded.

Sri Lanka's deputy defence minister said one of the attackers had studied in the UK before doing a course in Australia.

Mark Campbell said he now wanted to "bring my mum home" and give everyone who knew her "an opportunity to come together and celebrate this beautiful woman".

Dr Sally Bradley and Bill Harrop, who had been living in Australia since 2013, were also staying in the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo when one of the suicide bombers struck.