THE parents of a teenage boy who was killed in a car accident on the A533 say they are proud of the way their son lived his life.

A huge number of family and friends turned out to pay their respects to Matthew Whittle at his funeral on Friday.

St John the Evangelist Church, Delamere Street, was only just big enough to cope with the large number of people who attended.

Matthew, 18, of Denton Close, died following a car crash on Bostock Road on Sunday, March 21, when the Mini Mayfair he was travelling in with four friends left the road and hit a tree.

He was taken to Leighton Hospital but later died from his injuries. Sixteen-year-old Chloe Kozyra, from Over Peover, also died in the accident.

Speaking to the Guardian, Matthew's mother Jean Whittle, 57, and his father Douglas, 60, said he was a happy person who never gave them any trouble.

Mrs Whittle said: "I'm proud of the way he lived his life. We were always proud of him and we wouldn't have had him any other way.

"He was a very generous person. Although I didn't know it he had actually said that he wouldn't mind donating his organs. That just shows the kind of person he was.

"We have had lots of flowers and cards from not just his friends but from his friends' parents, which is overwhelming.

"He never brought any trouble into the home."

Matthew also leaves behind his 20-year-old brother Steven.

Matthew was a member of the Forlorn Explorer Scout Unit in Wharton and did a lot of work helping younger members.

Ian Rodgers, Explorer leader for Winsford, said: "In this day and age it is unusual to find someone that would do anything for you like Matthew would. If he hadn't died I think he would have grown up to be someone you recognised as part of the community."

Matthew was a former pupil at Verdin High School and was halfway through a four-year course at Mid-Cheshire College.

phennessey@guardiangrp.co.uk