'Devastated' family pay tribute to 'loving, gentle, funny' Crawley father who died in Croydon 'hit-and-run'

Stewart Grainger, 49, from Regents Close, Broadfield, died in the early hours of Monday, May 30.

Met Police officers were called at 3.11am to reports of a collision involving Stewart, who was cycling outside the BP garage in Mitcham Road.

The Met Police said the car failed to stop at the scene and, despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Stewart was pronounced dead.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to pay for Stewart’s funeral costs. A target of £6,000 has been set and, at the time of writing, £4,295 has so far been raised.

Tracey Parmenter, Stewart’s partner, said: “Stewart’s death has left us all devastated, with this massive hole that can never be filled. The fact this happened the day before our son's 13th birthday was hard to deal with.

“We have lost the person that held us all together and no amount of anything will ever change what we are going through, and will continue to go through, until this is all over and justice prevails.

“We, as a family, are all very grateful to those who have donated so far and we want to reach the target so we can give him the send off he rightly deserves after all the help he gave to others and asked for nothing in return.

“He was so excited at the thought of being able to see and hold his grandson who is due in August. But now he'll never get that chance. This is why any money left over from the funeral is being put in a trust fund for him and he'll be told all about his amazing grandad.”

Stewart was well-known in Crawley for his love of Halloween. His love of the holiday led to spectacular decorative displays in Broadfield for charitable causes.

Tracey added: “I think he'll be remembered most for his love of Halloween and the displays he has done for the last four or five years and the money that was collected for a different charity each year.

“There wasn't a day that went by when something Halloween related was being delivered and built in the back garden. I think at one point, he got me to buy all the skeletons that were available in any shop in Crawley!”

Tracey continued: “Stewart was a very loving, gentle, funny, thoughtful person, who would help anyone and everyone, no matter what.

“He had a very witty sense of humour, though sometimes you never quite knew if he was joking or not. We've had so many laughs over the last ten years and he lived for all of us.”

The Met Police reported on June 7 that a man, aged in his 30s, presented himself to a south London police station 12 hours after the collision, where he was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of a collision.

The police said he has been released on bail pending further investigation.

If you saw the collision or captured the incident, or the events leading up to the incident, on dash cam, Met Police officers want to hear from you.

You can call the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 020 8285 1574; call 101 or Tweet @MetCC quoting reference CAD 737/30May; or, to remain 100% anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

To donate to the GoFundMe to support Stewart's family, please visit gofundme.com/f/funeral-cost-for-stewart-grainger.