Lifelong Kingsbridgian Nigel ‘Nippy’ Brooks died this month, and friends have paid tribute to a ‘top bloke’.

Born in Kingsbridge on November 18, 1962, Nippy attended Kingsbridge School and went to work at Associated Asphalt before going on to work at Lidstone’s butchers in Kingsbridge and more recently driving haulage trucks.

Following his death on Saturday, February 13, at the age of 53, the blackboard above the bar in the King of Prussia pub in Kingsbridge was emblazoned with his most-used phrase ‘No word of a lie’, in honour of him.

Nippy’s brother Tony remembers him as a ‘very good footballer’, who played for Loddiswell, Thurlestone and Dartmouth, but said his friends knew him best.

Mark Fuchs, who calls Nippy his ‘best friend for 48 years’, called him a ‘true friend’ who was ‘full of fun, reliable and very particular about his appearance and his home’.

He enjoyed motorbikes, boats, football, rugby, cooking, walking and a ‘pint’ with his many friends.

Mark continued: ‘He was a man of many one-liners but would always make you laugh. We cried with joy and now we cry with sadness. He will be missed by all who knew him. Nippy the joker, Nigel the man.’

Andrew Searle said: ‘I am proud and privileged to have called him a true friend. He was funny, stubborn, moaning and loyal. He was never one to miss a good story or a little gossip. No words can say how much I will truly miss that little fella.’

Kenny Townsend had been friends with Nippy since school and owns the haulage company he worked for in the last nine years.

‘He’ll be missed big time’, said Kenny, ‘He was a good friend and a good employee; we’ve been friends for 35 years or more. Working with him as well as always socialising with him and occasionally fishing together – it was a big shock.’

Phil Ryder has known Nippy since he was four-years-old and went to primary school with him. ‘Me, Nigel and Kenny all grew up together’, said Phil, ‘We used to meet up every Wednesday and never lost touch.

‘He was a good friend. If you needed him he would be there for you, no matter the time of day, he’d be there. There’s nothing bad I can say about him. We used to go out on the motorbikes and always stuck together. It’s just such a shock’.

Nippy’s funeral will take place on Friday, February 26, at Weston Mill Crematorium in Plymouth at 2pm, with a wake to be held afterwards at the Regal Club in Kingsbridge. If you have any photos of Nippy to be shown on screens at the wake, please email them to: [email protected].