As the sun set over Coate Water park on Saturday evening, a large crowd gathered to mourn the loss of Dan Greenwood.

The 32-year-old amateur boxer from Ferndale passed away suddenly earlier this week.

His death sent shockwaves through the community and prompted an outpouring of grief on social media.

In the twilight, his family received tearful hugs and condolences from many of his friends and acquaintances.

Dan's stepfather Ray O'Grady said: "He was a wonderful lad, very friendly and misunderstood by many.

"He loved his sport, his weightlifting and his boxing, and he was as strong as an ox.

"When I first met him almost 11 years ago, I taught him how to punch, then he took up boxing and that was that.

"He suffered from Asperger's, which some people couldn't make hide nor hair of and the trouble was that that made him easily-led, but he was a great lad.

"It was all a bit of a shock, what happened, but we were very surprised by the amount of friends he had that we didn't know about, it's amazing."

Dan's mother Debbie O'Grady said: "Everyone in the boxing world knew him, and a lot of the homeless.

"Louise Morecambe from the Swindon Homeless Volunteers organised this and I'm amazed by how many people are here.

"He will be loved and missed by hundreds of people."

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled over the lake as candles were lit and balloons were lifted in the air.

Debbie added: "That'll be him looking down on us."

Ray gave a short speech to the dozens of people who had come to pay their respects.

He said: "On behalf of the family, I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming tonight.

"This proves to us that he was not only liked but loved by more people than he realised.

"All your kind messages and thoughts on facebook have been a great comfort to the family in this very sad time.

"Don't ever put yourself down and live your life."

Ray then asked everyone to raise their right hand to the sky and shout Dan's boxing catchphrase: "LET'S GO CHAMPS!"