TODAY would have been his 16th birthday. Ryan Liddon, pictured, would have received a birthday hug from his mum, opened his presents and spent the evening at a party with friends.

However, there will be no hug, no presents and no party.

Ryan was walking along Fawley Road, Hythe, on September 12 last year when he was fatally injured in an alleged hit-and-run accident.

He died 11 days later at Southampton General Hospital.

Today, his parents, Tony and Angela and older brother Nicholas will visit Ryan's grave at Blackfield Cemetery and light 16 candles in his memory. Mrs Liddon, 48, of Larkspur Gardens, Holbury, said the family would spend the rest of the day "in tears".

She added: "If Ryan was still with us I would give him a hug and wish him happy birthday, but I can't do that.

"Tonight he would have had a family meal, opened his presents and then gone out for the evening.

"Ryan loved downloading music and would probably have been given money towards an iPod. At that age many people would rather get cash on their birthday than a gift."

The family is still struggling to come to terms with his death.

Mrs Liddon added: "We still think about him all the time and I don't feel it's ever going to get any easier.

"I find that work helps. It's often at weekends or when I get home in the evening that I feel his death the most.

"Tony and I try to keep busy by doing the shopping, tending the garden or going out for a drive but Ryan is never out of our thoughts.

"I'll open a drawer and see one of his CDs, or pick up an object and realise it was Ryan's."