TRIBUTES have been paid to a popular Alpraham teenager who died after falling from his motorbike on Saturday.

Sam Carson, 18, was riding his Honda 125cc bike near his home along the A51 in the direction of Nantwich when he fell near to the Travellers Rest pub at about 4.20pm. No other vehicle is thought to have been involved.

The teenager sustained serious injuries and was airlifted from the scene to North Staffordshire Hospital. He died in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Sir John Deane’s College, Northwich, where Sam was studying maths, further maths and physics in the upper sixth form, has paid tribute to the ‘kind’ and ‘caring’ teenager, who was an accomplished fencer at Chester Fencing Club.

Kerry Kirkwood, principal of SJD, said: “We are shocked and saddened by this tragic news. Sam was a bright young man with a big personality that touched so many people.

“As you can imagine, he had a very wide group of close friends and all are very distressed.

“We have also been in close touch with his family and all our thoughts and prayers are with his parents, two sisters and brother at this tragic time.”

A special memorial has been set up in college where students and staff have been leaving tributes to Sam, while students and staff are also being offered counselling.

Sam joined SJD in September 2011 with an impressive set of GCSE results from Tarporley High School.

He was sociable and represented Chester Fencing Club in various competitions, once in the British Youth Championships.

As well as fencing, Sam also enjoyed archery, mountain bike riding with friends, reading and chess.

The college added that his friends described him as ‘kind’ and ‘caring’ – with a natural gift for spreading joy and happiness, someone who will never be forgotten.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash and are keen to speak to anyone who may have seen Sam on his motorbike before the collision. Anyone with information should call Cheshire police on 101, quoting incident number 767 of July 6.