Funeral of Crash Victim

34 year old firefighter Damien Smith from Tonbridge died in Golden Green on Monday 3 May when he collided with a van - his funeral takes place today.

Damien died when the motorbike he was on collided with a van on Three Elm Lane.

Flags are flying at half-mast at all fire stations in the county today and colleagues will be saluting the coffin today.

Damien's funeral is taking place 11.30am at Tonbridge Baptist Church, Darenth Avenue, Tonbridge, followed by a committal at Tunbridge Wells Crematorium at 2pm.  The family request no flowers but donations to ‘Fire-fighters Charity’ and they would like mourners to wear smart, casual and colourful clothing.

The 34 year old was due to be a father for the first time in a few weeks.

His mother Sally wrote this tribute:

“Our Lovely Boy isn’t here today.

His name is Damien Smith our world has ended, he was only 34 years old.

He was one of the most kind, loving, genuine people that you would ever meet.

We knew that he was popular but we cannot believe how many people loved him.

He is going to become a dad in 10 weeks time and was so excited with the prospect of this as he loved children and had so much love to give; he would have mad a fantastic dad."

Damien served with Tonbridge fire station for 12 years.

Tonbridge Station Manager Paul Ramsden said on behalf of his colleagues: "Damien was really the life and soul of the station – he loved to laugh and joke, and clearly relished the job. He was a hard working and professional firefighter that maintained the highest standards and his contribution to the fire service and local community has been outstanding. Juggling his position at the station with a full time employment meant that he dedicated a large proportion of his spare time to being a firefighter."