The girlfriend of a Luke Harwood told the Recorder of her heartache following his funeral last week.

Luke, 18, from Harold Hill, died in May after suffering head injuries, and five people are due to stand trial for his murder later this year.

Hannah Page, 21, is the mother of Luke’s nine-month-old son Archie. She is also pregnant with the couple’s daughter – Lilly-Rose – due in November.

She said: “Luke was loved by many people and that was shown on the day of his funeral. He was a very loving, caring person who had many friends.

“Luke will be sadly missed and will never be forgotten. He should never have been taken from us and especially at such a young age.

“He had so much to live for and his whole life ahead of him. He never had one bad bone in his body and was always looking out for people and helping them as much as he could.”

Thanks

She has asked that anyone who knew Luke joins the Facebook group – R.I.P. To Our Angel Luke Harwood and shares their memories and photos of his, as “I’m doing scrap books for Archie and Lilly-Rose so they will always know who their Daddy was.”

She added: “Thanks again to everyone who participated and for giving Luke the send off he deserved.

“He can finally rest in paradise and be free from this cruel world. He’ll forever be loved by myself, his little prince and princess, and all his family and friends.”

Hannah said she wants to thank the team at the Mayer Funeral Care Home for organising the funeral – “It was lovely and nice to see so many people come to say their goodbyes.”

She also expressed her thanks to Luke’s brother Scott and his partner Evelyn for organising fundraisers for the funeral and the William the Conqueror and Saxon King pubs.