A GRIEVING Suffolk woman last night paid tribute to her brother who died in a road crash and said “He went to the next world on the up”.Rod Bestwick was killed when his motorbike was in collision with two cars as he rode along the A143 at Horringer on Sunday.

A GRIEVING Suffolk woman last night paid tribute to her brother who died in a road crash and said “He went to the next world on the up”.

Rod Bestwick was killed when his motorbike was in collision with two cars as he rode along the A143 at Horringer on Sunday.

Speaking yesterday, on what would have been his 61st birthday, one of his sisters, Bridget Webster, remembered a man who loved nature and was devoted to his two youngest children.

She also told of how he had rebuilt his life in recent months following the trauma of being jailed for a year for possessing an illegal firearm in 2003, although he denied knowledge of it.

Mrs Webster, 66, of Conway Close, Ipswich, said he had since emerged from the “horrible” time in his life.

She said: “He went to the next world on the up. Everything was coming together for him.

“He was seeing his children more and was learning the computer and playing the guitar. He loved photography and had got a new camera.”

Mrs Webster recalled her brother's keen sense of humour and said he would have even seen a lighter side to the tragic accident that claimed his life, which happened on Bonfire Night.

“He would've found that really funny,” she said. “He would say at least he went out with a bang. He was right a character.”

The youngest of four children, with two sisters and a brother, Mr Bestwick was born and raised in Ipswich and was twice married.

He had lost touch with the two children from his first marriage but remained devoted to the two from his second, Isabelle, 14, and Kieran, 12.

Mrs Webster said: “He was a fun dad. With his two young children he was a house husband and brought them up from babies while his then wife went to work. They were everything to him.”

Despite his advancing years, Mr Bestwick, who lived in Servite House, in Trafalgar Close, Ipswich, remained young at heart.

Mrs Webster said: “He hated getting older, he was too lively. He didn't want to get old and he got his wish. He was full of life and a regular Peter Pan.

“Sometimes I would be a bit down and he would come over and cheer me up. He handled other people's problems better than he did his own. That was Rod for you.

“He loved the outdoor life and belonged to a shooting club. I remember my husband took him fishing and he caught a 13lb fish on only his second trip. He would come up trumps every time.”

Mr Bestwick, a former psychiatric nurse, had a keen interest in anything to do with motorbikes, a passion that ultimately claimed his life.

Mrs Webster recalled the traumatic moment when police called to her house to tell her of her brother's death.

She said: “I thought the police had come for neighbourhood watch. I was just saying 'no'. It choked me. I was devastated.

“Apparently he seemed to lose it on a bend and him and his bike parted company. I don't think I will ever get over it but every time I close my eyes I can see his toothy grin and him smiling.”

All of Mr Bestwick's friends are invited to attend his funeral, at Ipswich Crematorium at 11am on November 17.

Mrs Webster hopes some of his biker friends will follow the cortège, which will depart from Servite House.