Family and friends are mourning the tragic death of a popular 26-year-old racing driver and engineer from Blean.

Ryan Lawford was found dead at his home and is believed to have taken his own life.

He lived in Blean Common with his parents Martin and Julie and worked for a motorsport company where he was an engineer for a touring car racing team.

But he was well known in local motorsport circles and previously raced in the British Rallycross Championship, often at Lydden Hill.

He was a protege of local racing driving legend Will Gollop who have him work experience at his G-Tech Motorsport workshops in Whitstable when he was just 15.

Now retired from motorsport, Will said: "I only saw him the Friday before he died and he seemed fine. He was actually teaching me a few tricks with a lighting business project.

"He did work experience with me and I quickly saw he had an talent for it and gave him a job when he was 16.

"He helped me run a race car, but got behind the wheel himself as soon as he got the chance and had a natural flair for it. He was a quick learner and really passionate about motorsport. I am really shocked and saddened by his tragic death."

Ryan who died last Monday was an only child and grew up in Blean where he went to the village primary school. He was later a pupil the Chaucer Technology School in Canterbury.

He was working for Eurotech/Pirtek Racing as the number two mechanic to touring car racing star Andrew Jordan at the time of his death.

Tragic Ryan Lawford's racing car

A message posted on the company's website said that Jordan's car had carried a tribute to Ryan at the weekend's Autosport International Show.

Jordan told the website btcc.net: "I'd known Ryan since my mid-teens – he worked for Will Gollop's rallycross team which I drove for in 2006 and 2007. He was also a rapid driver and won races in rallycross himself.

"He first worked for us here at Eurotech in 2008 and then again all the way from 2010. We are all one family here. We don’t just work with one another – we're best mates and he was a great lad. This is so awful for everyone."

Another post on the UK Karting website read: "A wonderful lad, special boy, great friend, inspirational student. No sense to it, my thoughts and prayers go out to Ryan and his family forever, he will always be in my thoughts."

An inquest has been opened into Ryan's death by the coroner and adjourned to a future date to be fixed.

Did you know Ryan Lawford? Leave your tributes below.