A cortege of sports cars is being organised to line the streets of Alness this Friday as the community rallies together to pay tribute to a 16-year-old tragically killed in a car crash.
Craig Melville was a back-seat passenger of a blue Audi RS4 when it was involved in a crash on the B9176 Struie Road near the Fyrish substation junction
The 16-year-old tragically died as a result of the crash with two others hospitalised.
Craig’s family described him as “a loving son, grandson, boyfriend, nephew, cousin and friend” who was “much loved and is dearly missed”.
He will be laid to rest this Friday with plans forged on behalf of the family to have a convoy of sports cars line the streets of Alness as a farewell to Craig.
‘Much loved and dearly missed’: Family pay tribute to teen who died in Highland crash
Cortege of sports cars to line streets of Alness
Organiser Kevin MacLennan, who was Craig’s boss at Dornoch MOT Centre, has said it will be a “difficult day for everybody” but feels it is the least the community can do for Mr Melville’s family.
Speaking after Craig’s death, Mr MacLennan said he was a “bubbly person” who had “a real knack for mechanics” who was “always looking to get stuck in and help out”.
Today, Mr MacLennan said: “The idea came from Craig’s family, from his auntie Tina.
“I had been speaking to her and she had mentioned about trying to get some sports cars to come along.
“We all knew that Craig was a keen car guy and he loved his performance cars and his cars in general, hence he worked in the garage.
“I have a couple of cars myself that I am going to put on for the day. I have a Sierra Cosworth and a MK2 Focus RS which one of my friends is going to drive.”
A post shared on social media has been recirculated almost 700 times with Mr MacLennan inundated with messages of people wishing to pledge their support.
He added: “I have been contacted by some of Craig’s friends asking me to keep them updated and to say they are wanting to come along.
“Others have asked if motorbikes are allowed, so people are really coming together.
“I think people have really taken to it as they see it as their way of paying their respects to Craig and the family.
“It is going to be a hard, hard day for the family.
“I hope that by seeing the community come together and pay their respects, it will really help on what is going to be a tough day.
“Alness is one of those small communities that when there is a tragedy, everybody seems to pull together.
“It will be a difficult day for everybody and in these types of occasions you have to put the family first and they are very much in our thoughts.”
Overwhelming support to fundraiser
Lifelong friend Sophie Dickson started a gofundme fundraiser with Craig’s cousin Shannon Daw, initially hoping to raise £500 for Craig’s family.
Now, with more than 200 donors, the £500 target has been exceeded by more than 10 times, as £5,750 has been raised.
Ms Dickson, 17, said she wanted to help the family.
‘Overwhelming’ support for fundraiser in memory of crash teenager Craig
“On March 27 tragedy struck and flipped their worlds upside down,” she said.
“Wee Craig, as everyone knows him, has sadly passed away and will be dearly missed.
“We are raising money to help them through this awful time.”
She added: “We were thinking what we could do to help the family further, other than sending flowers.
“We set the target at £500, but already it’s over £4,000. The amount of support we’ve had has just been overwhelming.
“We’ve had loads of messages from people asking to keep it going for a few weeks because they still want to put money in.
“The numbers are climbing every hour.
“It’s been unreal and it’s definitely helped his mum, who has been overwhelmed by all the messages.”
Ms Dickson said her friend was “was very cheerful, full of energy and a massive comedian”.
“He was always up to no good to get everybody to laugh,” she added.