Tragic son 'was my best pal'

A Shropshire father has paid tribute to the son he called his "best mate" who died just days after celebrating his 17th birthday.

Jonathan Humphreys died when the car he was in was involved in a two-car smash near Bomere Heath last Wednesday afternoon.

Today his father Mark said his son was "always happy" and would be missed by his family and many friends. Mr Humphreys said his son had been through "so much" in his life.

He said his son had been through a two-year spell in a wheelchair after developing Perthes.

He added Jonathan, also known as Johno, was an avid Shrewsbury Town and Arsenal fan and had enjoyed going to Town home games.

"He was into his football and computer, there's been over 100 messages left on his Bebo page," he said.

"He touched everybody, he was a lovely lad. There wasn't a bad bone in him."

Jonathan lived with his father at The Wheatlands, Baschurch, and was a former pupil of the Corbet School in Baschurch and Baschurch Primary.

Mr Humphreys said: "It was just the two of us. Everything revolved around him.

"Everything was done for him. He was my best mate. We had a good time together, me and him.

"Everybody knew him, they all miss him."

The teenager was a motor vehicle student at Walford and North Shropshire College.

"He had really got into it since Christmas when it was practical work and he started getting his hands dirty - he was loving it," said Mr Humphreys. "He didn't like the writing but he liked the practical side of it. He was always happy, he had loads of friends.

"Nobody has said a bad word about him. He had never been in trouble.

"When he was seven he spent six months in traction and he spent two years in a wheelchair because he had Perthes."

Mr Humphreys, 46, said Jonathan would also be sadly missed by his mum Helen, 21-year-old sister Sam and her partner Ben Fox, brother David, who is two years old, and nephew Gabriel, six months.

He said Jonathan had been a "brilliant uncle" to baby Gabriel.

"He absolutely adored him," he said. "He was feeding him, winding him. He really took to Gabriel."

Mr Humphreys said he wanted to thank all of the people who had tried to help his son following the crash.

"We are grateful for everything that people tried to do," he said. "The police have been wonderful."