Tributes have poured in to a popular and well-respected Abergavenny driving instructor who sadly lost his courageous battle with cancer.

Kevin Smeed, 54, passed away on Wednesday May 11, after a fight with liver cancer.

The jovial Kevin, who was often photographed larking about and playing the joker, was diagnosed with the devastating disease in February.

A sociable man, who was said to be ‘young at heart’, Kevin enjoyed the company of a burgeoning group of friends and students, who expressed deep sadness of his passing, through many tributes.

His beloved mother, Margaret, said Kevin never married - ‘too busy living’ - filling his time planning his many travels.

In the family home at Dan-y-Deri, flanked by over 60 cards of condolence and sympathy, Margaret fought back tears as she spoke about her only child.

“Unfortunately, these are not Christmas cards I’ve left up,” she said. “Some of them have some lovely words within them. Some are from people I don’t even know. He was very popular and doing so wonderfully well.

“He was happy-go-lucky, really. Very placid. The trivial things in life didn’t upset him. He must have over one hundred tributes on Facebook. Those messages make me feel a little better.”

Many of the heartfelt tributes come from Kevin’s students. His work as a driving instructor embodied her son’s affable nature, his mother says. “He was a laid-back person. So patient with his students. They all liked Kevin.”

Margaret shuffles through old photos. The resonating theme is clear, after three or four swipes. Kevin’s expansive smile and fizzing nature pops with each capture.

“He loved living,” she says.

In one of her favourites, Kevin strums a guitar at her 80th birthday party. He looks every bit the part of a seasoned musician, with thousands of hours invested in those strings.

“He couldn’t actually play the guitar!”, she beams. “That was Kevin! He looks so happy there. He enjoyed his life. Everyone was enjoying themselves that night.”

Kevin was an intrepid traveller, often visiting distant cousins in Oklahoma, United States of America.

He had been all over the US, from the West of Las Vegas, California and Arizona to New York in the east and the southern panhandle of Florida.

His mother widens her smile to ward-off forming tears.

“He loved travelling. He really did. He loved the States. He was planning to go there in April, but it wasn’t to be.”

Kevin’s final trip was cancelled as the disease took hold.

Margaret said her son refused to totally succumb to the cancer. Once news had hit home, Kevin’s jovial nature abided. He maintained a stoic front when reality of the disease dawned.

“He didn’t tell anyone,” said his mother. “At a later stage, he said to close friends that he was worried about me, the ‘old girl’, and how I would manage.”

“Even when he was in hospital, I had the feeling he was trying to get rid of me. He told the doctor he wanted to pass messages on to his friend, for me, as he couldn’t tell me things himself.”