THE HEARTBROKEN parents of a man who died in a car accident have paid tribute to their 'sensitive and creative' son.

Former Pewsey Vale School pupil Jamie Wardle was a backseat passenger in the car, which crashed between Alton Barnes and Wilcott two weeks ago.

Paying tribute to their son, his parents Emma and Niall said they have been told by the coroner that he was not wearing a seatbelt when the accident happened.

“If only he was wearing a seatbelt,” said stepmum Emma at her home in Avonleaze Road in Pewsey.

“He might still be with us. I just can’t stop thinking about that. Why did he not wear a seatbelt? I will never understand that.”

She explained that Jamie had been out for an evening with friends the The Barge pub in Honey Street.

“We will never know exactly what happened,” she said.

“But we know that Jamie died from multiple injuries at the scene of the accident. He was in the back seat.”

The driver, later arrested and released pending further inquires, and a female passenger escaped from the crash, in which the car left the road and ploughed into a verge before landing in a hedge.

Jamie was described by his father Niall as someone you could have a chat with but who had struggled with mental illness.

“He had met a girl quite recently, and that seemed to really make a difference for him. He wasn’t very confident but he was starting to turn a corner and look forward to things.

“Skateboarding was his real passion,” he said. “He had been talking with a friend about setting up a skateboarding shop. He used to paint the bottom of the boards and do T-shirt designs. He also had a thing about trainers. I think he had about 80 pairs of them.”

Jamie’s 10-year-old sister Olivia will join the funeral procession through the village tomorrow, which will see many of Jamie’s friends line the route. They will be wearing trainers and his trademark red bandana as face masks.

Known to his friend as Jams, he was also a Star Wars super fan.

“When he moved into his flat he had a Darth Vader toaster – one of those ones that makes a Darth Vader shape in the toast,” said Niall, smiling. “He even had light sabre cutlery, which was awful to eat with!”

Friend Emily Gibbs said: “He was fun-loving, had wicked sense of humour, and the ultimate snazzy dresser. May the Force be with you, Jams.” His friends are also organising an auction of his trainers, and the proceeds will go towards mental health charity MIND.

Jamie’s ashes will be scattered at St Michael’s woods in Cholderton, where his grandfather's were put in 2017. “We are going to plant a tree for them so people can go and sit there and remember him,” said Emma.