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A British woman cycling round the world with her husband has been killed after being struck by a car in Bolivia.

Sharon Bridgman, 38, a charity worker from Devon, is believed to have died instantly in the collision, near the border with Chile.

She and husband Tim, a carpenter, set off from Norway in June 2012 and rode through Europe and Africa to South Africa. They were on the “return leg” of the three-year “North2North” tour, aiming to raise £10,000 for the disaster relief charity Shelter Box, and were heading to Alaska.

The couple, both experienced cyclists, had been due to return to the UK in three weeks for the wedding of friend Andrew Bowyer, with Mr Bridgman being best man. All three are members of Okehampton Cycling Club.

Mrs Bridgman was about 100m to 200m behind her husband, riding in a remote desert region 270 miles of the Bolivian capital La Paz, when she was hit by the 4X4 Toyota Land Cruiser on Saturday afternoon.

They were near the famous Uyuni salt flats, the largest in the world, at the time. The driver has been arrested by police and is in custody awaiting a court appearance.

Mr Bowyer told the Standard: “It was a really quiet road and there was no traffic on it. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They are just really passionate cyclists and love cycle touring.”

Robert Szembek, chairman of Okehampton Cycling Club, said: “It was their ambition to do this trip. They married a few years ago but had known each other for a long time before. They are a lovely couple, very, very popular in the club.”

Local police chief Marcelo Tejerina said: “The driver stopped and called police. He has now been arrested and his vehicle impounded which is standard practice after a fatal road accident.

“Both the driver and the tourist were travelling in the same direction from Villamar to Uyuni and were about 125 miles from the Chilean border.

“Mrs Bridgman appears to have swerved to the left for reasons that are unclear and taken the driver by surprise.”

British diplomats are understood to be assisting Mr Bridgman. His wife’s body has been flown to the Bolivian capital La Paz ahead of its repatriation to the UK. They are due home in several days.

On a blog detailing their trip, which has raised £1,160 so far, Mrs Bridgman told how they cycled through 23 countries on the 15,939-mile trip from Nordkapp in Northern Norway to Cape Agulhus in South Africa.

“We are now in South America and are heading to Northern Alaska – hence the name of our trip ‘ North to North cycle tour’,” she wrote.

The couple began touring in 2005 with a ride from Land’s End to John O’ Groats, raising money for the Samaritans. A three-week ride in Vietnam followed in 2010 before they began planning their world tour.