TRIBUTES have been paid to a ‘kind, sensitive and thoughtful’ young man whose life was tragically cut short after a crash in Christchurch.

Emergency services were called to Barrack Road just after 7pm on Thursday to reports of a collision between a car and a cyclist, close to the Premier Inn.

The cyclist - 21-year-old Aaron Lacey - suffered severe injuries and was rushed to Royal Bournemouth Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Yesterday his mum Julia Lacey, paid tribute to her ‘beautiful young man’, and said she’d been ‘broken into a million pieces’.

“We are heartbroken,” she wrote on the Echo's Facebook page. “He was such a kind, sensitive and thoughtful young man and I am so very, very proud of him. Heaven gained another precious angel.

“He was on his pushbike to collect a skateboard with his friend. He never got to collect that skateboard. What I will say is a huge thank you to those who tried so desperately to save him - the paramedics, the police, the passers-by, the consultant and nurses.

“Those who spent my son’s last precious moments before he took his last breath, those who witnessed the tragedy, my heart goes out to you also.

“His younger brother is broken beyond words, we all are. He was special... unique.

“He worked in a care home taking care of those less fortunate, mainly younger ones, teenagers who needed help day-to-day.”

The driver of the Volkswagen Polo, a 53-year-old woman from Christchurch who was also involved in the crash, was uninjured.

Ms Lacey added: “I am so very, very proud of him. In just his young years he had wisdom beyond, but sometimes he didn’t use that wisdom for himself - no crash helmet.

“He was always taught since first riding his bike to wear his crash helmet, yet in this case not even a helmet would have protected him. If he had lived his injuries were so serious he would never have been the same. He would have needed the care that he has given to others.

“Thank you to all of you for caring about this young man. He truly was a treasure. And to the lady whose car met with my son on such a fateful tragic evening, take deep breaths and treasure every moment you spend on this earth, your loved ones and their loved ones, take every moment as if it is your last. That is what my son did in this world.”

Antony Cross, team leader at Consensus Support which provides residential services to people with learning disabilities where Aaron worked, said: “Although Aaron was not with us long he had made a big impression, he was a valued colleague and friend and his energy and positivity will be missed by us all.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this sad time.”