TRIBUTES have been paid to Evesham teenager James Tartaglia who died in a helicopter crash at the weekend.

The 15-year-old lived with his mother, Gill Tartaglia, in South Littleton near Evesham. He was in the helicopter with his father Allan, of Brockworth in Gloucestershire, when it crashed in Somerset on Saturday, killing all four passengers.

"James was one of the nicest boys in the school," said Kelvin Corcoran, assistant headteacher at Cleeve School in Gloucestershire where James was a pupil.

"He was typically happy and smiling. He was a hard-working student who was well liked by his friends. He knew an awful lot of people and a lot of people knew him."

James's uncle Gordon Tartaglia said James had rung him half way through the fatal helicopter flight to say how much he was enjoying the trip.

"I spoke to James when he rang Cheltenham half way through the flight," he said. "He was absolutely over the moon that he had been up in a helicopter."

The Air Accident Investigation Board is now conducting a full enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the crash, assisted by Avon and Somerset Constabulary.