Tributes to Leicester student Sukhdeep Singh Johal after crash tragedy

Tributes have been paid to a "kind-hearted, honest and loving" 27-year-old who died in a car crash.

Sukhdeep Singh Johal, of Welford Road, Leicester, was killed when his car was involved in a collision with a lorry on the A47 near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on Friday.

Yesterday, family and friends described the De Montfort University student, pictured below, as "unique". He was in the final year of a degree in biomedical science at the university.

His father, Bhupinder Singh, said: "He was returning home from helping in our fashion shop in Wisbech, which he had been doing for the past five years.

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"He knew the route well and was not a fast driver. He was very sensible. I know the road like the back of my hand as I've driven it for about 36 years, often with Sukhdeep when he was younger. He was doing the final module in the final year of his degree and was looking to work in a hospital."

Cousin Harbandan Kaur Nainu, 18, said: "Anyone who knew Sukhdeep knows he was unique. He didn't have a single bad bone is his body.

"He was the most kind-hearted, loving, honest, genuine person... the list is endless. His presence alone had the ability to make you smile."

Sukhdeep was a keen footballer, known among his friends as "Stepover Sukh" or "Speedo" because of his skill and speed on the ball in the five-a-side matches he played with friends.

Cousin Harjot Singh, of Evington, said: "He was my cousin, but was more like a big brother.

"If ever I needed a lift anywhere, the answer was never 'no'. He used to take me to Victoria Park to play football and would buy me an ice cream."

Friend Manvir Singh Rai, 25, of Stoneygate, said: "He loved football, but he liked all sports – he was a really good sportsman, very fast and won most of the races at school.

"I don't think anyone had a bad word to say about him.

"I don't think it's sunk in, I'm still expecting to get a text from him asking me to play football.

"His main ambition was to be successful, but to do it in a way everyone could be proud of."

His mother Jasvinder Kaur and brother Amandeep, 24, were on a visit to India when the crash happened, but have since returned home.

Denise Lofthouse, headteacher at St Crispin's School, in St Mary's Road, Leicester – which Sukhdeep attended from nursery to the age of 16 – said: "He will always be remembered by the staff who taught him and by his peers. He was one of life's true gentlemen, kind, caring and respectful.

"Sukhdeep was very popular and was remembered fondly, he will be deeply missed."

The crash involving Sukhdeep's Peugeot 206, a Jaguar and a lorry took place on the A47 at Thorney Toll, near Wisbech, at 4.30pm on Friday.

The driver of the Jaguar X-type saloon, a 29-year-old woman from Peterborough, received minor injuries and the driver of the lorry, a 56-year-old man from Wisbech, was not injured.