Friends and family ‘distraught’ after beloved man, 28, killed in motorcyle crash

‘His dad is completely heartbroken, my kids are distraught’

After losing his best friend and “brother-like” figure in a tragic motorcycle crash, an East London man is raising funds for his funeral. Ben Church from Barking was 28 when he was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident on August 5.

Just over a week after Ben’s death, his best friend, Chris Wilson, 35, is now trying to raise £3,500 to help give his friend a loving and dignified send-off.

Police were called to a motorcycle crash in Aspen Way, close to the junction of Preston’s Road, at 3.25am, where a single vehicle collision took place. Enquiries are still ongoing, and officers are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Chris met Ben over six years ago on a construction site in the Gascoigne Estate, and after bonding through work, they became inseparable. From spending nearly every Christmas together to Ben being one of the first people to help out when Chris and his partner had their baby boy.

Chris said:”I met Ben through work, he was there two weeks before I started at a construction site on the Gasgoine estate. When I first met him, he was living on his own. Then one day I was talking to the Mrs about him, and she said, “Why don’t you invite him over for dinner?”

“He came round then, eventually he was knocking at my door, he came in. Then it got to the point where he was letting himself in. I’ve always been a family man, and Ben became a part of that family.

“He just became a big part of my family life, pretty much every Christmas for the past five years. He would come in on the day before Christmas Eve and leave on Boxing Day, sometimes not even until New Year’s Eve.

“My kids are distraught over all of this. He became more like a brother to me and more of an uncle-type figure to my kids. His dad is completely heartbroken with all this; he just wants someone to talk to, like he did with Ben. They called each other every day.

“When my baby boy was born, he was the first one there asking whether we needed anything. He was always caring and such a fun guy to be around. He was brilliant with the kids.

“He decided he wanted to do something else, then he fell in love with motorbikes. He didn’t know anything about them when he first started. Then he eventually started working with a bike mechanic, and he was able to strip a motorbike down all the way down and put it all back together without any hassle.”

Since finding out about Ben’s tragic death, Chris has started a fundraiser for his late friend’s funeral, aiming to raise over £3,500 for the event, with any remaining funds to be donated to a motorcycle safety charity. The link to the fundraiser can be found here.