Friends of 18-year-old New College student Kristian Milsom have come together, as one, to mourn and celebrate their friend.

On Wednesday evening, a week since his death, they came to lay candles and sign a giant Arsenal flag.

The Gunners were Kristian's favourite team, Dennis Bergkamp his idol, and several friends wore the red shirts in public tribute.

"He didn't have a care in the world," said best friend Clare Phelps. "I met him a year ago and we hit it off from the beginning.

"He was kind and calm with a good sense of humour.

"He had moved from Shrivenham and we were in the same Public Service classes. Kristian was enjoying the course and wanted to go into the Army when he finished."

The Army was one of his passions, along with playing football on Buckhurst Field. Neighbour Chris Baker, 18, still cannot believe he won't take to the pitch without his friend.

He said: "I'm still in shock really. He never showed any sign of being upset or anything and he loved football.

"We used to play all the time and I gave him the idea of going into the Army. We went to Wales on a week-long trial course and he was buzzing about it.

"It was something he wanted to do. But now he's gone I'm not sure I want to carry on with the Army."

While Kristian's two sisters Nicole and Simone and younger brother Thierry come to terms with their loss, his friends are planning a wake at their local pub.

Michael Sara, 17, is helping to turn the Bulldog into a festival of colour. He said: "We always went to the Bulldog because it was local and a nice place.

"We had been out there the night Kristian died and everything seemed fine. He had been playing pool, which he was great at, and nothing was up.

"So we want the wake to be like that, with Arsenal flags and lots of pictures to remember him by."

Kristian had been dating Nikki Jerome in the weeks before his death, and she explained why she liked him.

Nikki, 17, said: "We were only seeing each other but he was a great guy. I thought he was quite funny and he seemed to be happy.

"He was really relaxed and he loved Bob Marley."

Marley's classic No Woman No Cry was played on Buckhurst Field the night the community learned Kristian had died.

Friends played a memorial football match he had arranged to be part of just 24 hours earlier.

Tom Tuck was the last person to see Kristian alive. The 18-year-old said: "We walked home and were arranging to meet up for a game of footy.

"We were chatting normally and he was joking around as he walked into his house."

Friend Dene Ashworth, 17, said: "He was always relaxed. He would have wanted us to have a good time and carry on."

Twelve of the group face a tough decision over the coming months as they consider whether to go on a holiday they had booked with Kristian.

Clare said: "It was a two-week summer holiday to Magaluf and we were all so excited about it. It doesn't seem right to carry on now, but then again he would probably have told us to go.

"We might change the venue and go to celebrate his life. There would be some great memories."