A mother who lost two young sons and her fiance in the Asian tsunami disaster was born in West Bromwich, it emerged today. Sharon Howard, aged 37, of Hayle, Cornwall, was on holiday in Thailand with her sons Taylor, aged six, and Mason, aged eight, and her boyfriend David Page, aged 44. Taylor was killed, and Mason and Mr Page, to whom she became engaged just a day earlier, are missing presumed dead, after the deadly tidal waves struck their hotel in Khao-Lak Phang-Nga on Sunday. Ms Howard, a housewife who was born in West Bromwich but moved to Cornwall aged nine, suffered head injuries and is recovering in hospital in the Thai capital Bangkok. Police revealed today that she and Mr Page, of Graff-ham, West Sussex, had been together for about five years. Mr Page, a commercial deep sea diver who worked on the mission to recover the stricken Russian sub-marine Kursk in 2000, proposed to her on Christmas Day. The family had been travelling in Asia since December 2 and were due to return to England today. Police said the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Mr Page and the boys were unknown but all four were in the hotel complex when the tsunami hit land. Ms Howard, who has been told about the fate of her partner and children, is said to be improving but it is not known when she will leave hospital. Her eldest son, Jack Coop, 17, has flown to Bangkok with Ms Howard's sister Beverley and her brother-in-law Roland, both from Kent. Ms Howard's parents Rita and Trevor Coop, of Carbis Bay, St Ives, Cornwall, said in a statement: "We are obviously devastated." Restaurant man's relief BY JANE TYLER THE son and the nephew of the owner of a popular Midland restaurant survived the disaster. David Hunter, who runs Restaurant Parkfield 21 in Coleshill, was relieved to hear they were both safe --despite being swept away by a giant wave. His 30-year-old son Craig was holidaying on an island near Phuket with his nephew Steven, from Worcester, after attending a family wedding. Mr Hunter and his second wife Susan had a phone call from one of the wedding party yesterday telling them both men were alive. Mrs Hunter said: "Both were caught up in the waves and got separated and didn't know if the other was dead or alive. "Fortunately both survived, although Steven is having an operation on his injured leg." Charity sets £2m target BY JAMSHEED DIN A CITY charity today called on Birmingham people to help the millions who have been left displaced by the Tsunamis that have devastated South East Asia. Digbeth-based Islamic Relief has already allocated £200,000 to disaster relief and is now hoping to raise a further £2 million. A spokesman for the charity said: "We are moving to get aid there as quickly as possible. But we need more donations from the public. Birmingham people have never let us down before and I'm sure they will once again come to the aid of these poor people." For donations to the Tsunamis disaster appeal, call Islamic Relief on 0121 622 0622. Friends desperate FRIENDS of a Birmingham crane driver who went on a Christmas trip to Thailand were today desperate to trace the 32-year-old. Des O'Rourke, from Harborne, flew with his brother Kieron to south-east Asia on Christmas Eve and was planning a visit to the holiday resort of Phuket. But friends have been unable to contact him and are desperate for any news. "We have always been able to contact him when he has been abroad before," said Michael Dunworth, who has worked with Des. "We have tried to find his relatives and friends but have had no news." Thai islander safe A MIDLAND man living on an island close to the epicentre of the earthquake and tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, is alive and well. Friends living in Cradley Heath had feared for the safety of former truck driver Keith Tromans, 61, who moved to southern Thailand at the beginning of the year to set up home on the island of Koh Samui. But his friend, Margaret Cox, of Copse Road, Saltwells, Netherton, has received a phone call from him confirming he is safe. | 
