Matt Sadler's sister Lesley Stringer read a family statement on the steps of Lewes Crown Court: “Throughout this whole ordeal, my family has tried to show Matt for exactly who he was and how we will always remember him.
“We’ve never portrayed him as an angel or as perfect. He wasn’t ever those things and he would have hated to be thought of that way.
“He was loud, often wild, funny, fast and friendly. He was kind, generous and motorbike mad with a wicked, quick, dry sense of humour. He enjoyed living every moment of his life without regret or more importantly, fear.
“We are not blinded to the fact that Matt was also a normal teenager, a 17-year-old lad.
“He enjoyed a drink, socialising, a cigarette, spending time doing silly teenage things with his many, many friends or riding his beloved motorbike, usually far too fast.
“Mostly though, Matt always supported the underdog, challenged unfairness and was incredibly loyal to his friends. Most of all, he was fiercely protective of his family. We all loved Matty and will miss him terribly in far too many ways to mention.
“We are still grieving for Matty and probably will be for a lot longer as we are not only missing a l7-year-old son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin or friend but we cry for all the things he will never be and we cry for the loss of his future.
“We will never know what he could have become. We will never know his children, who would have been our grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins.
“We will never know him as a man, as a husband or father. He will always be ‘Little Matty’ to us. Little Matty that always grabbed life with both hands and lived it as hard and as fast as he could.
“Matt whose life was so tragically taken and his future has been lost to him, and lost to us, his family and friends. At this time it is important to remember Fred, Matt’s dad and my stepdad, who Matty adored and admired.
“Fred gave up fighting his illness after Matt died and as a consequence our family has had to endure two massive losses as a direct result of one person – Michael Morden.
“Knowing how much Matt loved and protected his family, it is painful to know that this whole torment has been caused by a person who called himself Matt’s friend.
“Michael Morden does not deserve the honour of being known as Matt’s friend. There were five young people in the car that night and he deliberately ran from the four injured people with total disregard for any of their lives.
“Michael will be able, at some stage, to get on with his journey through life while he ended Matt’s journey on February 9 this year.”
It wasn't your time to go Matty .
Matty meant the world to us all, he made us laugh and we all just enjoyed being in his company.
