A FRIEND of Nelson man Scott Thompson has thanked well-wishers for their support after the 27-year-old former soldier died in a quad-biking accident in Australia.

Ryan Monk, who was travelling with Mr Thompson and his girlfriend Sami Allott in Victoria state, said Miss Allott was ‘coping the best she can’.

He said: “Thank you all for the messages. We laid some flowers this afternoon and collected all Scott’s things from his farm house.

“It was so hard for Sami and yet she’s been so strong for Scott and herself.

“Scott was a one in a million guy and I’ll never meet another like him. I had a great laugh with him, a great time over here and looked forward to so many more memories with him and Sami.

She’s very strong and coping the best she can she just wants you all to know she appreciates every last message. She’s just finding it hard to put in to words.

The Lancashire Telegraph revealed yesterday that the former Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment Kingsman died in the town of Bungador on Tuesday morning when his quad bike was struck by a truck.