MOURNERS gathered in a Co Down village at the weekend to pay their final respects to a "beautiful" six-year-old boy killed in a road crash.
Joshua Kelly, a P3 pupil at St Finian's Primary School in Newtownards, died after he was struck by a car outside his home on the Scrabo Road on Wednesday afternoon.
It is understood the accident happened as he waved to his grandmother and that the family had recently moved into the area.
He was buried on Saturday following Requiem Mass in St Patrick's Church in Portaferry.
In a statement, the family said that the six-year-old would be "lovingly remembered and greatly missed by his sorrowing Mummy and Daddy and all the Kelly and Prior family circle". Although she did not wish to speak publicly about her loss, Ms Kelly paid tribute to her son in an online message last week.
She wrote: "Yesterday my beautiful boy grew his wings. And I thank god for the 6 brilliant years I had (with) him. RIP my wee bird."
Principal of St Finian's PS, Barry Coulter, described how Joshua's "affectionate personality was infectious".
"Joshua Kelly was a much loved pupil here in St Finian’s Primary School and will be sadly missed by the whole school community," he said.
"Joshua was a beautiful, kind little boy who was very popular with his classmates and the staff of the school. His smile could light up a room and his bubbly, affectionate personality was infectious.
Almost £800 has been raised in donations for the family through a JustGiving page.
The Scrabo Residents Association said it would continue to campaign on issues around traffic levels on the Scrabo Road.
In a Facebook post, it said: "We have been asking for traffic calming measures to be made along the Scrabo Road and in front of the Model School for a number of years now."
