THE life of Ryan Preston, which was tragically cut short at Christmas, has been marked by a memorial tree.

The tree, a mountain ash, was planted near the River Churn off Abbey Way, Cirencester,to coincide with what would have been Ryan's 19th birthday.

A commemorative plaque has also been erected there in memory of Ryan, who was killed in a car accident on Lockhampton Hill in December with his friend, Tony Hayward 21, of South Cerney.

Ryan was a popular teenager and it was his friends who came up with the idea of planting the tree.

Chris Hill, 19, who met Ryan at Cirencester County Infants School, said: "We all wanted to do something for him. He was very popular and would do anything for anyone.

"He would always put himself out for other people."

Ryan's mother Lynn, of North Home Road, Cirencester said the family had been very touched by the gesture.

n A collection of Ryan's funeral in January raised £980 for BBC Children in Need.