TRIBUTES have been paid to a Bidford security guard who was killed when he was involved in a collision with a lorry.

Paul John Reeves, aged 22, was walking with his girlfriend along the A46 near Salford Priors just before midnight when the collision with the 7.5-tonne vehicle happened, on June 11.

Paul, who was lodging at Orchard Close, Bidford, worked at Evesham's Riverside Shopping Centre for a Warwick firm, Watch Security.

David Bodenham-Belcher, contract manager for Evesham, Redditch and Solihull, said that Paul was a well-liked man who had very good prospects with the company.

He said: "It came as one hell of a shock to all of us. He had been working for us for seven months.

"When I told everyone at the centre, they were all really shocked. I think that's a mark of how much he was liked. It just basically stunned everyone concerned right from senior management to the other guards.

"It's very difficult to lose a colleague and especially a likeable colleague like Paul."

He added: "He was lodging in a house in Bidford and was just about to get his own place. He was really excited about it."

"He was a good worker, and we are all stunned that this has happened."

Bob Carr, manager of the Riverside Centre, also paid tribute to Paul's professionalism.

"He was a good guard," he said.