Tributes paid to moped rider John Bryan

A heartbroken sister has described the 'huge hole' left in her life following the death of her brother in a Waltham St Lawrence crash.

Sandra Barney described her brother John Bryan as a lovable person who 'made friends everywhere he went'.

Hundreds turned out to pay their respects at the funeral of the 57-year-old from Waltham St Lawrence on Thursday.

He died after a collision in Woodlands Park Road with a van while riding his moped on January 10. The fatal accident happened a day before he was due to celebrate his 58th birthday.

A special Ceroc dance night was held at Loddon Hall in Twyford last week, where he had been a regular face for more than 15 years and was known as 'John the Shirt'.

Sandra, from Farm Road in Pinkneys Green, said: "He got the nickname because he always wore brightly coloured tops. He went dancing almost every week so everyone knew him. He absolutely loved it."

John grew up in Maidenhead attending Altwood CE School in Altwood Road.

The dad-of-one and grandfather-of-two moved to Pool Lane seven years ago and had worked as an electrical technician at Bracknell and Wokingham College.

Sandra said she was really close to her younger brother and coping with his sudden death has been hard.

"It has been hard to pick up the pieces," she added.

"I miss talking to him, he used to call me every night.

"He was such a character and had a lot of funny sayings which are probably too rude to repeat. He was always making people smile and I'm going to miss him so much."

An inquest into his death has been opened and adjourned.

* Police are still investigating the crash. No arrests have been made.

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