Work colleagues to walk in memory of beloved grandfather killed in Littlehampton

Paul Lawrence, 51, was named as the victim of an incident in Gladonian Road, around 6am, on Sunday, January 28.

Heartfelt family tributes were paid to a ‘gentle soul’ who was ‘full of happiness and loved by all’.

Paul, a plumber and gas engineer, worked at Stocker And Sons Ltd and was one of the most popular members of the team.

Colleague Matt Clayton has now organised a sponsored walk from Brighton Pier to Littlehampton on Saturday (February 10).

"After what happened, we wanted to try and do something for the family,” Matt said.

"We can't make anything better but we can take away a bit of the financial [burden].

"We decided to do a walk. Originally five or six of the Stockers were going to do it but we're up to 20 that are going to come and do the walk on Saturday.”

At the time of writing, £6,900 has been raised on the Crowdfunding page.

“It's going directly to one of Paul's daughters to cover funeral costs,” Matt said. “It will hopefully go quite a bit of the way to covering it.”

Paying tribute to his friend and colleague, Matt added: “Paul was a really nice bloke.

“He was the Mr Happy of the firm. No matter the situation or the job, he would always have a smile on his face and be laughing away.

"He was the one you look for in the mornings to see the smile.

"Sometimes you don't realise how someone affects you until they're gone. Coming into work and realising he wasn't coming up the stairs is when it hit everyone at work. We are all going to miss him massively.”

The sponsored walk, due to start at 9am, will see Paul’s family and friends travel through Worthing Pier, Ferring and Rustington before the finish line at Littlehampton Trades and Labour Club.

Matt said: “His mum will say a personal thank you to everyone doing the walk at the finish, where there will be a buffet. We would like to see as many there as possible.

“People less able to walk as far can join us at different parts.” To see the timings for the walk and/or make a donation, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Paul-Lawrence1.

A 16-year-old boy was taken into custody after Paul was found dead.

“Having carefully considered the circumstances, he has since been released on bail with strict conditions, including a curfew, until March 14 as enquiries continue,” a spokesperson for Sussex Police said.