GRIEVING parents paid tribute yesterday to their ''gentle giant'' of a son who died in a road accident in a Suffolk village.Russell Arnold, 36, died when the white Ford Transit van he was driving collided with several parked cars and a pub sign in Snape a week ago.

By Richard Smith

GRIEVING parents paid tribute yesterday to their ''gentle giant'' of a son who died in a road accident in a Suffolk village.

Russell Arnold, 36, died when the white Ford Transit van he was driving collided with several parked cars and a pub sign in Snape a week ago.

Last night his parents, David and Margaret Arnold, said he “put a smile on a lot of faces”.

He and his father worked together in the carpentry trade and briefly had a company known as STB Carpenters.

Mr Arnold was living at home with his parents in Hocket Crescent, Tunstall, although Mr and Mrs Arnold were staying in a caravan at Haddiscoe, Norfolk, on September 24, the night of his death.

The crash happened outside the Crown Inn on the B1069 at about 10.45pm as he travelled towards Snape, from the Snape crossroads. It is not clear where he had been that evening.

Mr Arnold and his father had recently finished working on six houses in St John's Road, Saxmundham, and they were employed on new homes in Quayside, Woodbridge.

His father said it would be particularly difficult to return to work on Monday without his son.

''We have not met anyone who had a bad word to say about him. He seemed to put a smile on a lot of people's faces,'' said Mr Arnold, 64.

Mrs Arnold said: ''He was a gentle giant and he was very well liked.''

Their son used to be a door supervisor for King's Clubs, including in Colchester, and he was a carpenter all his working life.

Mr Arnold, known as Russ to his friends, was a competitive person who liked to be a winner at whatever he did. When he took up golf he immediately aimed for a single figure handicap and he was down to a handicap of seven at Seckford golf club, near Woodbridge, when an elbow injury recently forced him to stop.

He played pool at the Green Man, Tunstall, and when he was a schoolboy he was one of the top 40 riders in motocross in the country.

One friend said: ''Russ was a big softie, so full of life, always ready for a laugh, always around when you needed cheering up. He will be greatly missed. A heart of gold.''

His funeral will be on October 9 at Ipswich Crematorium, starting at 11am.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash and are trying to trace Mr Arnold's movements. Anyone with information can call Pc Steve Fisher, at Halesworth police, on 01986 835350.