Final farewell to tragic Matthew

Family and friends of a teenager killed in a horrific crash on a Shropshire road gathered to say their goodbyes to him.

Mourners packed St Bartholomew's Church in Moreton Corbet yesterday for the funeral of 17-year-old Matthew Latham-Jones.

Matthew, from Penley, near Ellesmere, died on October 10 after the Nissan Almera he was a passenger in left the B5476 road and crashed into a house at Sleap, near Wem.

His stepfather Mark Latham-Chadwick told the congregation Matthew was totally unselfish, genuinely sincere, overwhelmingly honest and always thinking of other people's feelings.

He said Matthew stood up for what he believed in and adored his mother, Gaynor Latham-Chadwick, who was also his best friend.

He said he and Matthew would spend hours together talking about cars, the Army, music and business and he would miss his "huge hugs and big kisses".

Mr Latham-Chadwick said he and his wife had slipped a "small token" of a new packet of 10 cigarettes and a packet of matches quietly into Matthew's suit.

"Matthew was as close as any human that I have met to perfect," he said.

"His whole life was about making others happy and taking their pain away.

"We cannot conceive of a life going forward without Matthew and the hole in our world is so enormous that I know we will never be able to fill it.

"We are so very, very proud of our darling son."

Matthew's brother Phillip Latham-Jones, 21, said he was "my everything".

He described Matthew as "my little star" and urged mourners to "carry that radiant smile that Matthew always had come rain or shine".

The service was followed by a private family committal.