Family left grieving as accident robs them of loved one
A family have told of their heartbreak and said the 'laughter has left their home' after the tragic death of a man who brought a smile to everyone's face.
Selsey has been rocked by the death of Raymond 'Egg' Barnes, who died in hospital after a motorcycle accident on the B2145 Selsey Road.
Tributes have been pouring in for the 32-year-old and around 400 people gathered outside East Beach off-licence, Orchard Parade where Ray used to meet with friends.
"Everyone keeps saying they are missing his cheeky smile," said Ray's mum Joan Barnes.
"We are just all missing him so much. He was very funny and he used to have us all in stitches. It kind of feels like the laughter has left our home.
"He would come in from the shops at 10pm and say 'you'll never guess
what happened?' He would tell us different stories, we would have a cup of tea and a chat and then he would go to bed. Sometimes we would watch films together."
Ray's sister Natalie Bavington, her husband Richard, and their daughters Amy and Jodie will miss him 'dreadfully'. Natalie said Ray was irreplaceable.
On April 27, Ray, of Fontwell Road, dropped his Yamaha motorbike at the Witterings for some repairs. He then borrowed a friend's moped to get around.
At 2.30pm on the Selsey Road, opposite Sidlesham Service Station, the moped he was riding collided with a scooter.
The driver of the scooter and Ray's friend, who was riding on the moped with him, escaped with no injuries. However Ray was rushed to St Richard's Hospital with severe leg injuries. His condition deteriorated and he died on May 2.
Family friend John Russell said Ray had a 'heart of gold'.
"He was a charmer, that was his forte," he said.
Ray travelled with John to Egypt two years ago, a destination he had always dreamt of visiting. His other favourite place was New York. Mrs Barnes took Ray to the Big Apple nearly three years ago.
Ray was born in Roehampton, near Putney, London and moved to Selsey with his mum, dad Brian and sister Natalie when he was 15 years old.
He 'adored' his two nieces Amy and Jodie and loved his motorbikes, as well as his Staffordshire bull terrier dogs. He was not able to work as he suffered from various medical problems.
A date is to be set for Ray's funeral, which will take place at St Peter's Church in Selsey.
A motorbike will carry Ray's coffin to a burial ground in Church Norton. The coffin will have special graphics of New York decorated on it.
Little Mascot
Around 90 cards were sent to Ray's home after family and friends heard the news of his death.
Two Facebook pages have been set up in memory of Ray, where users can leave messages and view pictures of him.
Flowers were left outside East Beach Off Licence, where he used to hang around with friends. A bottle of Diet Coke was nailed to the outside of the shop because he used to drink it by the 'bucketload'.
Laura Mitir, who works at shop, said Ray was East Beach's 'little mascot'.
She said: "Ray used to hang around outside most evenings, he was like a security guard. Would do anything for anybody. I've known him for years. Really shocked everybody, 32 is no age to die."
Ray's auntie and uncle Pamela and David Manners looked after Ray when his parents went away.
Mr Manners said: "Ray was great fun. He used to nick my jokes and we had a good relationship. Pam was like a second mum to him."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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