Chris Lamb, aged 25, went to school in Northampton and trained in the town as a heating engineer before deciding to go travelling in Australia and south-east Asia.

He left home 15 months ago, on Mother's Day, and was planning to come back to the UK when he was killed on a Thai road near the Vietnam border.

His mother, Sarah Cook, from Duston, said: "The last email I got from him last month said he was contemplating coming home and he was already thinking about what he wanted to do when he got back. I wish that he had come straight back now.

"I replied, asking him more details and saying that we'd sort something out and I never heard from him again."


It is believed Chris was a passenger on a motorbike in northern Thailand on Thursday, which was just three days before his 26th birthday.

The family has received conflicting information, but the bike was either hit by a drunk driver or the bike simply crashed into a lamp post.

However, it is certain he was not wearing a crash helmet when the accident happened.

Mrs Cook, who use to work for the ambulance service, said: "It was the first thing I asked about – a helmet. He knew from my job how important it was to take care of his safety. I understand he was having a good time but it's just sad.

"It hasn't really hit home yet but I guess it only will once his body comes home."

Chris's former school, Roade Comprehensive, said: "He was very hard working, always gave 100 per cent and was a credit to himself and the school."

A spokesman at Auto Turned Products in Round Spinney, where Chris had worked, said: "He was a promising and very talented engineer. It's a tragic loss."