A lorry driver who died at the age of 32 is to be taken to his funeral on the back of a vehicle he used to work on.

Ryan Bennett lost his brave battle on June 24 after suffering multiple organ failure.

As many as 40 lorries driven by his friends, family and colleagues will meet at his home in Bell Farm Lane, Minster, on Tuesday, July 16, at 11am.

They will follow the father-of-one’s coffin to the Garden of England Crematorium, Bobbing, where a funeral will be held at noon.

The route will pass his schools: Minster Primary, the former Danley school, the old Minster College and Fulston Manor, Sittingbourne.

It will also visit some of his favourite spots, including Queenborough Corner where he used to fill up with diesel and have breakfast. Mr Bennett’s brother Darren said between 400 and 500 people are expected to attend the service.

The 30-year-old, who owns Island firm DW Bennett Logistics Ltd where Ryan worked, said: “Lorries and his daughter were his whole life.

“He wanted to go on the back of his lorry to the funeral and then it has just led from one thing to another and friends have just come from everywhere.

“He was a generous, helpful, good bloke. He was liked and cared for by a lot of people.”

Mr Bennett’s mother, Jayne Goodwin, said her son’s passion for haulage came from his grandfather David Bennett, who founded DW Bennett Logistics.

The 52-year-old said: “He was born into it. That never, ever went away.

“When kids were playing with bikes, Ryan was only ever interested in learning how to drive a forklift and how to load pallets.”

He founded his own company, RJA Transport, but had to stop it due to ill health and went to work for his brother.

Mr Bennett had suffered kidney failure for the past four years. He was in hospital for 14 days before he died, during which time he underwent open-heart surgery.

He is survived by his six-year-old daughter Alexia, who goes to St Edward’s RC Primary in Sheerness.