FRIENDS and family of Ben Summerton were today due to attend the funeral of the tragic teenager killed in a motorcycle accident.

FRIENDS and family of Ben Summerton were today due to attend the funeral of the tragic teenager killed in a motorcycle accident.

Tributes were due to be paid to the 19-year-old during the service in the West Chapel of Ipswich Crematorium, as well as some of the his favourite songs.

Ben, of Purdis Farm, died at Ipswich hospital after new his Honda bike collided with a concrete post outside a house in Nacton Road. He had decided to take a detour on his way home from finishing a late shift at McDonald's in Ravenswood.

Today's service was due to open with the Coldplay song 'Fix You', which includes the moving words: “Tears stream down your face when you lose something you cannot replace.”

Ben's sister Emily Edgell was then due to make a personal tribute to her brother in the form of the song Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

So many tributes have been paid to the teenager in the two weeks since his death, which happened just days before his 20th birthday.

A page set up in Ben's honour on social networking website Facebook received dozens of tributes posted by grieving friends and family, and heartfelt messages from those who didn't know him but were touched by his tragic tale.

Former school friend Emily Hart wrote: “I went to Orwell with Ben but didn't get to know him as well as I would have liked.

“He was one of the good guys. It's a shame his life got taken so early... his spirit will live on though. RIP Ben xx.”

In a message to Ben's family, McDonald's colleague Alix Turner wrote: “I haven't been working at McDonald's for long but I did talk to Ben and I know he was a lovely guy. It's horrible that he's been taken away, and I'm so sorry for your loss.”

Animal lover Ben was awarded an Advanced National Certificate in Animal Care at Otley College last summer. College friend Daniel John Edwards paid tribute to an “absolute legend and the best friend a guy could ask for.”

He wrote: “There wasn't a moment in college where I wasn't happy to see you around. Your passion for exotic creatures and your expansive knowledge of them was truly amazing.”

Ben's family intend to adopt a Burmese python at Colchester Zoo in Ben's name and donate the remainder of contributions from friends and family to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, which Ben supported.

You can pay tribute to Ben - write to Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or visit the Evening Star website at www.eveningstar.co.uk.

Committal poem to be read at Ben's funeral:

'Miss Me but Let Me Go'

When I come to the end of the road

And the sun has set for me

I want no rites in a gloom filled room

Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little - but not for long

And not with your head bowed low

Remember the love that we once shared

Miss me - but let me go

For this is a journey we all must take

And each must go alone

It's all part of the Masters plan

A step on the road to home

When you are lonely and sick at heart

Go to the friends we know

And bury your sorrow in doing good deeds

Miss me - but let me go.