The mother of a teenager found dead in a river had paid tribute to him.

Lynn Kemp, from Whitstable, said of Sonny Pataria: “He was such a small person but he had a big heart, he was loved by everyone.

“He never had a bad word for anybody.”

Ms Kemp said Sonny seemed to “have a home everywhere he went” and joked that he had “a lot of parents” willing to look after him.

Sonny’s body was found in the River Medway on Tuesday, February 10, just three days after his 18th birthday. He lived in Gillingham.

A Facebook group in his memory has more than 1,000 members.

Sonny went missing after a friend’s wedding reception at the Commissioner’s House in Chatham’s Historic Dockyard. His body was found by police the following day.

Members of his football team, Spartac FC under-18s, wore black armbands for their match on Sunday and honoured a minute’s silence.

Almost 200 people, including his mother, father, siblings and family members, attended.

Police have confirmed that they are not treating the death as suspicious.