Funeral held for ‘remarkable’ teenager after Beccles river death

Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of a teenager who died in a river.

Nischay Patel, 14, had been swimming with friends in the river Waveney at Beccles Quay on the evening of 3 July.

Family, friends and fellow pupils of Sir John Leman High School in Beccles, where Nischay was a year 9 student, came together at the Waveney Memorial Park to pay their respects to the much-loved boy.

A tribute from his parents, Ketan and Praptiben Patel, said: “He touched our lives with his unwavering kindness, gentle wisdom and boundless love.”

A private Hindu ceremony took place on Saturday morning, followed by a memories service and then his funeral, attended by everyone to pay their final respects.

The Patel family, who own a newsagents in Beccles, said in a Facebook tribute: “This loss is unimaginable, and as we grieve, we hold close the love of our friends, family, and customers.”

Flowers and tributes were left at Beccles Quay and outside the family’s shop.

An online fund set up by two women who knew Nischay and his family has raised almost £14,000 to date.

Terri Bird and Layla Eales set up the appeal to help his family cover any lost income and funeral costs, with the remainder being used on life-saving equipment at the riverside – and a memorial bench.

Richard Crozier, a former teacher at Notre Dame High School in Norwich and who owns a shop adjacent to the family’s shop, said: “It was immediately obvious that Nischay had a spirit, a kind of life force, which is very rare in a young lad.

“He and his brother worked as a team, changing students’ minds and attitudes in the most subtle of ways.

“He was magical in his ability to communicate. A remarkable, remarkable boy.”

He said Nischay’s popularity was evident in the numbers of young people who attended his funeral.

“He was a real leader of people,” Mr Crozier added, “and would have been, I’m absolutely convinced, quite a national figure.”