A fundraising campaign to give a Darvel man “the perfect send-off” has smashed its target in less than a week.
Pals of 21-year-old Richie King banded together to raise money through a Go Fund Me page – and
it currently sits £155 over the £2000 target.
Emotional tributes have poured in for Richie whose body was found in a house in East Main Street on Wednesday, April 10.
Police say there are no suspicious circumstances.
'He touched the lives of anyone who knew him' tributes pour in for Darvel man Richie King, 21
Heartbroken lifelong friend Hannah Smith has described Richie as “the funniest person she has ever known”.
Speaking to the Kilmarnock Standard , Hannah said: “Richie was my best friend. I have known him since I was born.
“The two of us and my boyfriend have always just been a kind of trio of friends. He is the craziest person I have ever met in my life. He is also the funniest person I have ever known.
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“I can’t even put into words how to describe him – he’s just one of those people that anyone who knew him just loved him.
“He was a loveable rogue.
“He touched the lives of anyone who knew him – the amount of people who have banded together since we heard the news is crazy.”
Hannah continued: “We all got together and came to his mum’s straight away, he has so many people who love him and so many people who are planning to come and see us.
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“It is really amazing and so overwhelming the support we had.
“The amount of money raised on the Go Fund Me page shows how loved he is.”
She added: “We just want to do best for his mum as he was her golden boy.
“We feel like it’s our turn to make sure he gets the send-off that he deserves. We need to make sure that his mum is okay for money going forward.”
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Friends and family posted heartfelt tributes on social media.
A cousin of Richie posted: “Absolutely heartbroken. You hear about these things every day but you’d never imagine it would be your own family.
“I will always cherish the memories we had together growing up.
“Still feel in shock and don’t have many words to say. Love you forever big cousin, hope you’re in a better place.”
