Rebecca Logie, 19, - who was known as Becci – was a gap year student.

She died along with Lizzie Pincock, 19, Indira Swann, 19, Emily Sadler, 20, and tour leader Sarah Howard, 27.

Rebecca, from Plymouth Grove, Chorley, was a former pupil of St Miichael's High School in Chorley and had been due to start an English degree course at King's College, London, in October.

Her parents Robin and Jane Logie, who are both clinical psychologists, were informed of the tragedy at 11.30am on Sunday morning when the police visited their home.

Speaking to the Guardian Mr Logie said it was a tragedy but it hoped it wouldn't stop other young people travelling and following their dreams.

He said: "She loved life. Everybody liked her and she was very popular. She lived life to the full.

"The trip was part of her gap year. It was a four-month trip and she'd been gone for three weeks.

"I don't want anybody to be put off by what happened to our daughter. We don't have any complaints with the travel company. It was an accident."

He said ironically he and his wife had recently been watching a TV programme about children who were wrapped in cotton wool and said it was important youngsters were allowed to lead a full life.

The couple also have a 17-year-old daughter called Emily.

The bus the girls had been is thought to have collided with a lorry near Jipijapa on Saturday between 6pm and 7pm local time.

Mr Logie, 52, said his daughter was fulfilling her dream by being out in Ecuador.

"It was part of her gap year," he said. "They were doing voluntary things and learning Spanish. They were just about to start a two-week volunteer project in Puerto Lopez.

"She had been working in a café/bar in Manchester to earn some money before she went and she'd been looking forward to it.

"She had been due to come home in July. We last spoke to her on Thursday and she'd got sunburnt legs. Becci was really pleased because she'd nearly made it to the top of a mountain called Cotopaxi.

"My wife (Jane) had told her to enjoy going to the beach."

Rebecca, who had spent all her life in Chorley, had kept a travel blog on the internet so her friends and family could stay in touch with her exploits. Her last update was on April 8, just a few days before she died.

When she was 17 she was robbed in her car in Preston just two weeks after learning to drive.

She attended St George's Primary School before going to St Michael's High School, where she was remembered as a popular pupil.

She took A-Levels in maths, English Language and Literature at Winstanley College, near Wigan, before taking a gap year ahead of starting at university.

Her father said she was hoping to go into media or journalism, possibly in fashion.

Outside of her studies she was a keen dancer. She had been a member of Jay-Em School of Dance in Chorley, with a special interest in ballet and modern dance.

Mr Logie said: "She also had a passion for camping and would go every year."

No details have been finalised yet about flying her body home.

A spokesman for Gordon Brown said: "The prime minister was deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of five young British people in Ecuador."

The accident happened in Sancan, on the road between Manta and Jipijapa, an Ecuadorian news website reported.

The group had been heading to the second stage of their trip, which involved volunteering on a development project on the coast at Puerto Lopez.

They had just completed two weeks of Spanish language classes in the capital Quito.

The group was only 30 minutes from its destination, and the accident had happened in the least dangerous, lowland part of the trip.

A group set up on the social networking site Facebook ahead of the trip lists 18 expedition members, including one person from VentureCo.

It says they were taking part in either the 15-week "Inca and Amazon Venture" or the 12-week "Inca Venture". Both trips set out on 27 March.

Tributes can be sent to: Christopher.maguire@lep.co.uk