Victim of Portland Beach Road crash named as Tom Gardiner

He was named as Tom Gardiner, from Portland, at the opening of an inquest into his death.

Floral tributes have been left close of the scene of the incident which happened on Sunday morning.

A family tribute reads: "Tom our wonderful son. We will miss you more than words can say.

"You will leave us broken hearted forever. You leave behind three beautiful daughters who love you to the moon and back. Your ever-loving mum and dad. RIP Tom. Fly high."

A spokesperson for Portland Amateur Boxing Club said: "It is with a heavy heart (we say) that former club boxer Tom  Gardiner was in a traffic accident and died.

"Such a bright, caring young man and father.

"He left his mark on everybody who knew him.

"Fly high with the angels Tom. We will all miss you so much."

Officers investigating the collision have appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

The road was closed for several hours to enable emergency services to safely deal with the scene.

Police Sergeant Richard Stroud, of the Roads Policing Team, said: “Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the man who sadly died.

“We are conducting a thorough investigation to establish the full circumstances of the incident and I would urge any witnesses to please contact us.

“I would also like to hear from anyone who may have captured anything relevant on dashcam footage."

The Co-Op group released a statement following the collision, which involved one of the supermarket chain's lorries.

It has expressed its 'deepest sympathy' after the tragic incident.

A spokesperson said: "We want to express our deepest sympathy to the family of the individual involved in the road traffic incident.

"We are awaiting further information from the police and will fully support their investigation."

Any witnesses or anyone with information are being urged to contact police. 

They can contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email at [email protected] or by calling 101, quoting incident number 20:170.

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.