The family of Richard Day have told of how their lives will never be the same again following his death.

The 45-year-old’s father, mother and brother told of their heartache as a 17-year-old boy was sentenced by Judge Martyn Levett at Ipswich Crown Court after admitting violent disorder in connection with Mr Day’s death following an altercation outside Kebapizza in St Matthew’s Street, Ipswich, in February this year.

In victim impact statements read to the court, Richard Day’s family described the devastating effect his death had had on them.

Mr Day’s father, Andrew, told how his life had been changed forever after he received a telephone call from his youngest son in the middle of the night telling him that Richard, his eldest son, had been severely injured.

He arrived at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, to find Richard unresponsive and wired up to machines and said that sight would stay with him for ever.

He said that after the family was told Richard was brain dead they were dealt another blow when they were told that only six people could attend his funeral, instead of the more than 250 people they had anticipated, because of Coronavirus restrictions.

Mr Day said he had suffered from depression and difficulty sleeping since his son’s death and was unable to go near St Matthew’s Street.

Mr Day’s mother Gina described her “precious” son as “loving, caring and warm-hearted” with an infectious laugh and smile.

She said he was her “best friend” and hadn’t deserved to be taken from his family “so suddenly and cruelly.”

Richard’s brother, Kristopher, said he felt guilty for not being able to protect his brother, who worked as a control engineer for UK Power Networks, and had been left “broken” by the death of his “friend, confidante and social companion”.

He said that nothing would ever be as good as it could and should have been without his brother.

Mr Day also described his regret at not being able to carry his brother’s coffin at his funeral and having to sit apart from his family during the ceremony because of coronavirus restrictions.

Kristopher Day’s abridged victim impact statement:

“Since the incident, my day-to-day life, my nights, my physical and emotional wellbeing, and my ability to function have been significantly impacted in the following ways.

“Literally everyday since the loss of my brother Richard, my mind has constantly replayed the images of seeing him lifeless and unresponsive in his hospital bed.

“I relive the consultants words that, due to the injuries inflicted upon him, his brain had died, therefore, Richard had died.

“These images have such clarity – it is as though I have never escaped those worst moments of my life.

“This causes me to be in constant pain that exceeds just emotional, it is physical.

“I have lost not just my brother but my support in times of need, a friend, my confidante and my social companion. Nothing will ever be as good as it could have been and should have been.

“Due to the current global pandemic, which is nobody’s fault, when it came to lay Richard to rest, we had to do so with only six of us present.

“We had to sit apart, could not comfort and embrace each other, I could not carry Richard into the chapel, nor deliver my eulogy to the hundreds that would have otherwise been in attendance. We all had to go our separate ways at the end of the service.

“One of the hardest things for me to have to endure on a daily basis is seeing my mother and father broken; to see my surviving brothers just simply lost and hurting. My own grief is doubled-up on. It breaks me, I am broken.”

Gina Day’s abridged victim impact statement: “I’ll never forget the image of Richie on the machines to keep him alive.

“He just laid there; he never regained consciousness. We talked to him, kissed him, told him how much we loved him. It was such a shock.

“There was no more they could do – 45 years on this earth, then suddenly taken away from us.

“He had many more years to live; so much to live for – had so many dreams.

“No one can prepare you for the loss the emptiness and grief to follow.

“We’ll never hear him again; his infectious laugh and smile, his bear hugs and his kindness.

“He wouldn’t want us to be unhappy, but he never deserved to be taken from us so suddenly and cruelly. Bless him.

“I’m heartbroken to lose such a well loved and respected member of society. My son Richie.

“I miss him so much. There would never go a day that we didn’t speak. I used to stay every weekend. This emptiness is forever – for life. Such a waste – senseless.”