Police appeal for witnesses after Hector Eccles came off the road in his Polaris Ranger on Saturday night
A family have paid tribute to their “beautiful, kind and lovely” 16-year-old boy who was killed after crashing into a field on his farm buggy.
Hector Eccles died after he came off the road and crashed into a field near Extwistle Road, Worsthorne, Lancashire, at about midnight on Saturday. He was driving a Polaris Ranger, which is a small off-road buggy or UTV (utility task vehicle).
His passenger, a 17-year-old boy from Burnley, was not seriously injured, Lancashire police said.
In a tribute, Hector’s family thanked those who had expressed sympathy and shared a photo of him with some sheep.
They wrote: “This is our Hector on his farm with his animals, where he loved to spend his time. Always happiest: on the farm, at Gisburn Auction or with his friends and colleagues in Pendle Young Farmers. Hector will always be in our hearts and minds, we will always remember our: beautiful, kind and lovely boy.”
Sgt Martin Wilcock, from Lancashire’s road policing unit, said: “This collision has resulted in a teenager losing his life and my thoughts remain with Hector’s loved ones at this difficult time.
“Having carried out extensive work to establish the circumstances of what led to the collision, we are satisfied that this is no longer a criminal investigation and we are now carrying out inquiries on behalf of the coroner.
“With that in mind, I would ask any witnesses or anyone with dashcam covering the area around that time to contact the police. A family is grieving and I would ask the public – particularly those on social media – not to engage in any unhelpful, unnecessary and hurtful speculation.”
In a post on Facebook, the Pendle Young Farmers club said Hector would be “missed massively”.
The group said: “Everyone at Pendle Young Farmers are devastated to hear the loss of our fellow young farmer and friend Hector Eccles.
“Hector was a keen member coming to every meeting and competing at regional and county competitions. He was a kind, helpful and lovely lad that will be missed massively at our club.
“From everyone at Pendle Young Farmers we would like to send our love and prayers to Geoff, Wendy, his family and friends at this difficult time. Fly high Hector, you will never be forgotten.”
