Tributes paid to Darlington man Jack Daykin, who died in Slovenia

The 23-year-old from Darlington went missing after going into a ravine in the Slovenian Alps to look for his phone last Thursday.

A friend he was travelling with raised the alarm and a major search operation was immediately launched.

On Tuesday afternoon, police in the Nova Gorica region confirmed that his body had been found and identified by close relatives who are out there.

• Body of missing man Jack Daykin found in ravine in Slovenia

The news prompted a huge outpouring of support and grief on social media, including from friends in the tight-knit watersports community.

An accomplished sportsman and adventurer, Mr Daykin was widely respected for his achievements as a kitesurfer from an early age.

He was shortlisted for a 'promising new talent' prize at The Northern Echo's celebration of grassroots sports, The Local Heroes Awards for 2010, and won the 'outstanding achievement in sport category' at Darlington's Vibe Awards in 2011.

One of his proudest achievements came when he landed the British kitesurfing championship under 19 title in 2010, at just 15.

One friend said: "He was a very enthusiastic and accomplished water man who was into all sorts of sports including wakeboarding and kitesurfing. He was very talented and regularly appeared on table of high jumpers and more than that he was very popular."

Others paid tribute to him on social media, describing him as an 'adventurous spirit', 'an awesome guy' and 'a ridiculous talent across so many sports'. They said he had 'an infectious personality' and was a 'fine young man' and a credit to his family.

One of Mr Daykin's former school headteachers paid a warm tribute to him.

When he was a pupil at Hurworth School, he was popular with fellow pupils and teachers and known for his adventurous spirit.

He later studied at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Darlington.

In 2010, Jack Daykin, was crowned under 21 British kitesurfing champion at a competition in Blackpool. He is pictured with one of his manys kite  and boards. Picture: DOUG JACKSON

Dean Judson, chief executive of Swift Academies, which includes Hurworth School, said: “Jack was a lovely, effervescent, polite boy who was extremely popular with everyone at the school.

“He was adventurous, lived life to the full, and brought great credit to the school with his remarkable national achievements as a talented kite-surfer.

“We are all greatly saddened by the news and our thoughts are with Jack’s family and friends.”

Mr Daykin had been travelling in the picturesque Julian Alps with a friend, also a man from the North-East, before the accident.

While visiting Kluze Fort, an old military checkpoint over the Koritnica River gorge, near Bovec, he dropped his phone and went to search for it.

The five-day effort to find him involved specialised mountain police officers from three regions, a diving unit, firefighters and the mountain rescue service.

His body was found at the side of the river, which was swollen due to heavy rain at the time of his disappearance but had seen the water level drop by about a metre.