THE heartbroken mother of a teenager who died after he was in collision with a motorbike has thanked his school friends for their support and messages of sympathy.

THE heartbroken mother of a teenager who died after he was in collision with a motorbike has thanked his school friends for their support and messages of sympathy.

Tomas Wren, 13, was killed as he crossed the road outside Great Baddow High School and many of the pupils witnessed the horrific accident.

Yesterday his mother, Ame, paid tribute to her "cheeky but honest son".

Tomas, who was the youngest of seven children, lived with his mother, father, Tony, and sister, Mary Lisa at Watchouse Road in Galleywood, near Chelmsford.

Mrs Wren, a midwife at St John's Hospital in Chelmsford, said she had been overwhelmed by the cards and flowers placed outside the school and at the exact spot he died.

She said: "It is very moving to see it all but was very hard for me to go down there and look at the flowers where he died because I had been there.

"He was so humorous - he made everybody laugh and giggle. He was also a charmer, whenever he spoke to ladies from 10 to 80 they all had a sparkle in their eyes when they saw him.

"Somebody has said to us this week that he was a credit to his generation. He was terribly cheeky, but was always honest and respectful."

After the accident happened on Monday as the school emptied, a friend of Tomas phoned Mrs Wren and she was able to be with her son before he died.

She said: "I went down there and I was just in time to touch him when he was still alive. He was not conscious, and when I looked at him I knew there was not a lot of hope because of how he looked." A memorial fund has been set up for Tomas and one of the ideas is to have a flag post at his school.

n A 17-year-old from the Chelmsford area who was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving has been released on police bail until June 17.