“He was too good for this world.”

Those are the words of Adie and Sue Walker who have been left with a “devastating void” following the sudden death of their 19-year-old son Thom.

The former Maidstone Grammar School pupil’s legacy of kindness was typified when his parents were told his donated heart had helped save the life of another person.

Mr and Mrs Walker paid tribute to their “caring and quick-witted” son who was described as “much more than amazing”.

Mrs Walker said: “He was very special. We thought the absolute world of him. He is such a loss to us and it has left a devastating void.

“He was a good soul with a very clever mind. He had a wisdom that was probably way ahead of his years.

“It’s incredibly painful that he is not here but at least someone else can have a life because of our son.”

Bookworm Thom joined the cadets at MGS and found his perfect environment to flourish before turning his attention to becoming an army officer.

However, he was dealt a blow when an allergy put a stop to his desire to join the army and turned his attentions to IT.

Mr Walker said: “He was an out and out leader. Even at the open evening at MGS he was asking if he could go into the army. The cadets helped give him a focus. The discipline he got from the army cadets at MGS was the making of Thom.”

Thom’s parents revealed he was a deep thinker and spent a lot of his time trying to make the world a better place.

At just nine years old he took on a sponsored silence raising £100 for Demelza house and his plans for 2019 involved travelling to Nepal to help teach orphans English.

Mr Walker added: “He didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk. If he could have changed the world then he would have. He would have changed the things he didn’t like.”

Thom was found unresponsive in his bedroom on Friday, April 6, at around 10.45pm before he was rushed to hospital.

Despite the best efforts of nurses and doctors Mr and Mrs Walker were told the news that their son would not survive and his final moments were spent surrounded by 20 of his closest friends.

They were then told he had already donated his organs and on Monday, April 9, it was revealed his heart was used to save a patient in a critical condition.

Mrs Walker said: “Somebody has had his heart. He has given the greatest gift anyone could give.

“If people could read this and sign up to donate their organs and save five lives then that would be good.

“He touched so many people’s lives when he was alive and when he died he saved so many.”

Beckie Willmott, Thom’s best friend, had met with him just the day before he was found and said the pair had been planning their travels for the year ahead.

The two would spend most days together and had the closest friendship possible and she described how losing her best friend had left a huge hole in her life.

Beckie said: “Thom was my everything. He will never quite understand the sheer ripping hole he has left in my life.

“When I’m making dinner, walking the dogs or watching a film I keep thinking about him.

“He was always with me and now I can hardly sit in my room anymore.

“Thom was that one person you always looked for in a crowded room and now he has gone. What do you do when that person is gone?

“If I met him out with friends and others were engaged in conversation then he would be rush to me to get me a chair.

“I hope Thom looks down now and knows how much he was adored.

“I was with him the day before he died and we were planning our travels. We had so much we were going to do.”

Thom had helped out at the homeless shelter at weekends and volunteered at the Hazlitt Theatre and Beckie said he would help whoever he could whenever he could.

She said: “He used to share petitions to get people to sign them. He wanted to make such a difference.

“He was wise beyond his years.

“If I was upset or down I would text him to say ‘Thom I don’t feel good’ and he would come back with a paragraph about how amazing I am.

“We loved each other so much.”

Close friend William Richards said Thom was "like a brother" to him.

He said: “We shared a passion for the outdoors, activities like hiking, camping and shooting and thus we embarked on many mini adventures together.

“Thom really was unique, a bold and proud characteristic that makes losing him all the harder, there simply aren’t people like Thom around; astoundingly intelligent with a kind heart and a brilliant sense of humor, Thom really was a stand out character and an individual.

“Losing Thom really has really felt like losing a brother more than a friend, visiting him in his final moments was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I am incredibly grateful for the strength and support from Sue, Adie and all of our friends to which we all have confided in one another.

“His death has also been an opportunity to reflect and celebrate Thom’s life and all the happy moments we shared together and I’ve found myself laughing as much as crying recalling different memories.

"I find immense strength in the fact that during the low points if he were here he’d be telling us all to get a grip which always makes me chuckle.

“He was a unique character who was loved by many and someone who I am immensely proud to have called my best mate and shared a brotherhood with.

"Thom was an extremely passionate and naturally talented cadet within the Combined Cadet Force to which our Army section was associated with the Royal Engineers, a Corps he had aspirations to join in adulthood.

"A fitting conclusion I believe would be to quote the Royal Engineers' motto of ‘Ubique’ meaning ‘everywhere’; for despite being gone in body he will remain everywhere in our minds and in our hearts.

"Rest easy Thom, never forgotten.”