Joshua's mum loses her 'rock'

The mother of 12-year-old Joshua Bennie, who was killed cycling to school on Taradale's Guppy Rd on Wednesday, today described her son as "my rock".
Josh's mum Tracey Gibb is in remission after a year battling leukaemia. Through it all Josh was by her side.
"For the eight or nine months I was in and out of hospital, Josh would come along with a big smile and make me laugh," she said.
"He was just full of life - happy, happy, happy and he just had a wicked sense of humour."
Mrs Gibb said the family was trying to stay strong through such a difficult time but the loss of their "funny, energetic, amazing" boy had taken its toll on everyone.
"We are lost without him, we are just trying to think about the happy times."
The night before he died, Mrs Gibb had shared a very special moment with her son, one she will never forget.
"I had hopped into bed with him and told him that I loved him. He was hanging off my back and wouldn't let go, he said he loved me too.
"The next morning he just said 'have a really nice day mum', and off he went."
Josh loved school to the point that he was really excited to get out the door every morning.
"We had to stop him leaving too early he was so happy to be going to school and with life. He had a girlfriend - he would come home and joke around saying 'I'm so hot I just don't know what I'm going to do with all these girls'."
Josh was nuts about Star Wars, he loved to play Halo on X-Box, hated sport and dreamed big. "He was funny, he didn't like exercise, he wanted to be a helicopter pilot."
Mrs Gibb choked back tears as she read an email from Josh's teacher, which she says described him perfectly: "He was the light of our classroom ... I have honestly never seen someone who is so comfortable being himself.
Josh had a younger brother, Jarrin, and sister Jessica. His mother and father, Grant, had separated and she was remarried.
Josh's aunt Hayley Berryman has vowed to dedicate herself to making sure roads are safe for children cycling to school.
"No one else should have to lose their baby. When he was killed, from his family's point of view, if there's anything we can do to stop it happening again we will."
A farewell to Josh will be held at Napier Baptist Church, Riverbend Rd, on Monday.