Family left heartbroken by biker's death
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THE family of a motorcyclist killed in a road accident near Thrumster at the weekend have said a huge hole has been left in their lives.
Brent Larnach, from Clyth, died after his bike collided with a van a mile south of the village on the A99 Wick to Latheron road.
It happened at 3pm on Saturday and the 28-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
His father, Noel Larnach, and stepmother Linda Baker immediately travelled north from their home in Suffolk to comfort Brent’s two sisters and girlfriend.
Speaking to the Caithness Courier, Ms Baker said the family had been left heartbroken by Brent’s death.
"I have known Brent since he was a baby and have always thought of him as my own baby," she said.
"He had got himself into a position in life where he had found a good job, was building his own house and was looking forward to the future – he had everything going for him and all of a sudden it was gone.
"He was an easy-going individual who was very sociable and had a lot of friends and was very enthusiastic about cars and motorbikes.
"He was also passionate about building his new house, and we used to joke that he wouldn’t be able to afford his motorbike and car when it was built. But he said that he would because he was going to get a promotion – he was a very ambitious man who was focused in life."
Brent is survived by his two older sisters, Tempel (36) and Somer (33), and his girlfriend, Leanne Sutherland (28), who he had been seeing for two years.
He also had a very close relationship with his grandparents in Lybster who Ms Baker said played a big part in Brent’s upbringing.
For the past eight years, he had been working offshore and had made his way up to the position of derrickman with Awilco Drilling.
Ms Baker said Brent meant the world to his family and they were struggling to come to terms with his passing.
"Brent meant everything to Noel and I, it is difficult to put how we felt about him into words," she said.
"When we come up from Suffolk, we always expect to see him coming back from work offshore to meet us.
"He will be missed by everyone who was close to him and it is going to be hard not to have him here any more."
Dozens of friends and relatives have left messages of condolence on his Facebook site in tribute to a man who was popularly known as "Freddy".
One comment read: "Always in our thoughts Fred, keep on laughing it’s what you did best."
Another wrote: "Freddy you really were one of the good guys, you will be greatly missed by us all."
The road was closed for six hours while an investigation was carried out by officers of Northern Constabulary’s road policing unit.
A woman passenger in the van had to be cut free from the vehicle and was taken to Caithness General Hospital in Wick before being transferred to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness suffering from serious pelvic and back injuries.
NHS Highland could not comment on her condition yesterday morning.
Brent’s death was the third fatality to occur on roads in Caithness this year.
Stewart Milnes (26), from Reay, was killed on January 6 at Scrabster Brae while Christopher Durrand (17), from Wick, died at Hastigrow Bridge on February 12.
Landward Caithness councillor Willie Mackay offered his condolences to Brent’s family and said it was a tragedy another young person had been killed on Far North roads.
"In such a small, close-knit community like Clyth, his passing must have a great impact on everyone that knew him," he said.
"It’s always a sad loss when an incident such as this happens, but we know that the A99 has a history of accidents that make statistics grim reading."
