One of the most familiar faces on the political scene in the Ipswich area has died after being hit by a train near the town’s station.

Matthew Percy, 21, of Edmonton Close in Kesgrave was a member of the Youth Parliament and had served on Kesgrave Town Council.

A keen member of the Labour Party, he was a regular member of its campaign teams both in his own constituency of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich and in Ipswich itself where he was helping David Ellesmere’s general election campaign.

He was a former Kesgrave High School pupil and was currently studying at UCS.

In 2013 Mr Percy was one of the youngest Labour candidates in the country when he stood for one of the Kesgrave seats on Suffolk County Council at just 19 years old.

Mr Percy lived with his mother Holly and sister and was nominated for a county-wide Young People of the Year (YOPEY) when he was 16.

He took an active role in community events despite being diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder at the age of eight.

Mr Percy died late on Monday night and an inquest into his death is expected to be opened in the near future.