THE funeral of Kevin Challis, the Dorset ski instructor who was killed in the Austrian tunnel fire disaster, will be held tomorrow.

The funeral will take place on the day Kevin would have celebrated his 41st birthday, in the ski resort of Kaprun where he lived with his Austrian wife Christl and eight-year-old daughter Siobhan.

Kevin's father Roy Challis, of Bridport, will be travelling to Austria with seven members of his family for the service, which will be held in the village church where the couple were married.

Kevin was among the passengers on the Kitzsteinhorn mountain train which was engulfed in flames in a tunnel near Kaprun, killing 159 people. Fire broke out 600 yards into the 12-foot high tunnel.

Kevin had planned to ski with daughter Siobhan before he met clients on the mountain. She had a lucky escape - her dad put her on the train in front and she was waiting at the top when disaster struck.

Kevin managed to escape from the blazing train only to be overcome by fumes - and it later emerged that he died trying to save the life of an eight-year-old boy. Christl revealed that his body was found next to a boy who was in his daughter's ski class.

Kevin was born and bred in Bridport.