A man who died after being hit by a car in Halstead on Easter Sunday has been provisionally named by police as Andrew Cheffins.

The 23-year-old was found on Braintree Road at 2.30am on Sunday, April 1. He was sadly declared dead at the scene.

In a statement to Essex police, his sister, Madelynn, said: “Today life has played one of the cruellest tricks imaginable.

“We have lost our beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend in a tragic accident.

“Andrew was a beautiful, kind-hearted, gentle soul who would do anything for his family and friends.

“Andrew was truly unique, literally one in a million, with some weird, yet wonderful ways but we wouldn’t have wanted him any other way.

“Words can’t describe how much we’ll miss him.”

Emergency services were called at around 2.30am on Easter Sunday to the stretch of road close to the building site, and section of road restricted to 40mph.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said they had been called to “reports that a car had collided with a person lying in the road”, and said that while both police and paramedics attended, a man in his 20s was declared dead at the scene.

The road was closed while forensic investigations took place, and a white VW Up was recovered, before the road was re-opened at around 10am.

Police confirmed that no arrests have been made.

Shirley Diver, chairman of Halstead Town Council said she was very sorry to hear the news.

“It’s a horrible piece of road – it’s a very windy road,” she said.

She added that fatalities often had a deep impact on the Halstead community, which she said was a “close-knit community”.

Enquiries are ongoing, and anyone with information about Andrew’s movements on Saturday night and Sunday morning is asked to contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 101 or email: collisionappeal@essex.pnn.police.uk