TO members of the Silent Street Labour Club, Dean Bloomfield was a happy-go-lucky teenager who was very much one of them.The 15-year-old regularly visited the club with both his family and friends to play pool, snooker and darts and was known as a friendly, polite character.

TO members of the Silent Street Labour Club, Dean Bloomfield was a happy-go-lucky teenager who was very much one of them.

The 15-year-old regularly visited the club with both his family and friends to play pool, snooker and darts and was known as a friendly, polite character.

Rachel Bottomley, 34, who works behind the bar at the club, in Ipswich, said: "Everybody who comes down the club knew Dean and they love the family. Mum and dad are brilliant characters.

"Dean would come in, get a drink and then go and play pool. He would sometimes come in on his own.

"I'm still expecting him to come around the corner and ask for a coke and a packet of crisps. He always had a coke and a packet of crisps."

The news that Dean had been involved in Friday's tragedy soon spread around the close-knit club and Miss Bottomley said she received a phone call at around 11.20pm that night.

"It didn't register at first, she said. My friend told me, but it was like nothing was final. I just thought he would pull through. That's all I could think of. It was just such a shock to hear it and you just can't explain it."

She added: "It's near enough the same people in here day in, day out and it's difficult to talk about it. The weekend was dreadful, especially on Saturday when we heard the news (of Dean's death)."

Roger Fitch, 61, of Foundation Street, Ipswich saw Dean's family at Ipswich Hospital on Friday, having just visited his mother.

He said: "I came out of the hospital last Friday and I saw the family and they told me the bad news.

"I was stunned. I didn't know what to say for words. He was a nice, nice boy and we're all very close to the family down here."

Lee Cricket, 34, of Stonecroft Gardens, Ipswich, said club members were experiencing a mixture of anger and grief following Dean's death.

He said: "There's a lot of angry people but we all take consolation in each other.

"It was a bit of a shock for me. I had to sit down. It was basically shock more than anything."

Occasionally, Dean had brought his best friend and fellow victim, Scott Towler, into the club, although not regularly enough for the members to get to know him.

Dean was not short of female admirers and had many girlfriends, according to Miss Bottomley.

She said: "We wouldn't see him when the girls were around. There's one hell of a lot of girls who are pretty devastated. He had more than his fair share of female attention. They loved him."

Dean was also known as a particularly good pool player and was a member of the club's team.

Mr Cricket said: "He was brilliant at pool. If he didn't seven ball me, I was happy.

"He was just a typical teenager. Just a nice lad."