A heartbroken mum has paid tribute to her “generous” and “loving” son after his body was found in the River Medway.

Andrew Bottrill is believed to have been on a dinghy when it capsized causing him to fall in the water at Sun Pier, in Chatham, at around 11pm on Sunday, October 13.

The emergency services, including fire crews who were first on the scene, police officers, the RNLI and the HM Coastguard, searched the river at the time but he was not found.

Last Thursday (October 24), crews were called to reports of a man being seen near the water’s edge off the Medway City Estate, in Strood.

Andrew, who was living on a boat near Sun Pier, was confirmed dead at the scene.

His mum Elaine Leeks has since paid tribute to her only son who “lived his life as he wanted to live it”.

She said: “He loved having his freedom, he was a bit of a nomad really but he worked hard. He wanted to be his own person and that is how he lived.

“He liked to do what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it. No bureaucracy, that was Andrew.

“He was generous to his friends and was a lovely boy. I have got lovely memories of him.

“He could be a little toerag but just because he did not live how I wanted him to live did not make him a bad lad.

“He was very loving. Even when he was at school he would always come and hug and kiss me even in front of the other boys.

“He would always text me saying ‘Love you, Mum’.”

Andrew, 47, grew up in Herne Bay before moving to Medway and was a self-employed groundworker and paver.

He leaves behind his two children who are 15 and 12-years-old, two sisters, Laura and Jenny, and his girlfriend Rachael.

Known for socialising and enjoying a drink, Elaine said Andrew would often be at the pub with his friends or on the fruit machines.

Flowers, pictures, candles, balloons and written tributes have since been left at Sun Pier in memory of the dad-of-two.

Elaine added: “Everyone knew him but I must admit, I did not realise he was so loved. There has been an outpouring of love for him.

“We do not know why he went out on that dinghy that night and we never will. It was a fatal accident.

“We want to thank all the emergency service crews and DI Leanne Sawyer who has been with us every step of the way and gone above and beyond.”

The mum-of-three is raising money to help cover the costs of Andrew’s funeral and for a donation to the rescue teams who tried to save him. You can donate here.

At the time of writing it had raised £1,200.