THE mother of a teenage strongman killed in a car crash just days after the death of a family friend has paid tribute to her "gentle giant" son.

Tyrone Singh, from Darlington, suffered fatal injuries when his silver Hyundai Getz hit a barrier on the A66 at Long Newton, between Darlington and Stockton, on April 15.

The 18-year-old was friendly with 15-year-old Kyle Hull, also from Darlington, who was killed after falling through a roof at Darlington Auction Mart.

Tyrone and Kyle shared the same birthday and Kyle was friends with Tyrone's 15-year-old brother, Mitchell.

Speaking from the family home in Skerne Park, surrounded by hundreds of sympathy cards and dozens of floral boquets, Tyrone's mother Janine said the family would work hard to keep his memory alive.

The Northern Echo:
REMEMBERED: Friends of Tyrone Singh and Kyle Hull pay tribute

She said: "We have been absolutely devastated and just keep asking questions, like why did this have to happen to us?

"Tyrone was a gentle giant, he never harmed a fly and never gave anybody any trouble – apart from his brothers and sisters, who he used to argue with sometimes, but just normal sibling stuff.

"I will miss everything about him, his mannerisms, his little jokes and little things like the fact the fridge was never full for long when he was around.

"He put everybody else before himself and made everybody happy."

Referring to the number of cards and bouquets that have arrived at the family home in the past week, she said: "I can't believe how many lives he touched."

Mrs Singh said she hoped the closeness of her family unit would, over time, help them deal with the tragedy together.

As well as his mother and Mitchell, Tyrone also leaves behind a twin sister Catelyn, older sister Shona-Leigh and his father, Rashy.

Tyrone, who worked as a car valeter, had only passed his driving test in January.

Mrs Singh said her son was a careful motorist, who kept a 'black box' device in his car, which monitored how he was driving.

She said she hoped that if something positive could come from Tyrone's death, it would be making young drivers more wary of potential dangers on the roads.

The family is also hopeful that warning signs will be installed on the stretch of road where Tyrone crashed.

Tyrone trained six times a week and took part in his first strongman competition earlier this month.

Mrs Singh is certain that Tyrone would have gone on to enjoy further success had fate not intervened.

She added: "That was all he lived for, his work and his gym."

A series of fundraising events for the families of Tyrone and Kyle has taken place in Darlington since the double tragedy.

Tyrone's funeral will be held at St Cuthbert's Church, in Darlington, at 1pm, on Wednesday, April 29.

Kyle's funeral takes place at the same place at 12.30pm today.