Witnesses have spoken of the 20-year-old who was in the "prime of his life" when he crashed his car into a tree, killing him.

On Saturday, March 14, officers from Sutton police, the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service were called out to reports that a car hit a tree in Sandy Lane, Cheam.

The man, believed to have lived in the Cheam or Belmont area, was pronounced dead despite the efforts of rescuers.

Following his death, flowers and candles have been left by the tree in tribute.

One man, a nearby resident, tried to help the 20-year-old as he waited for emergency crews to arrive, and got into the black Vauxhall Corsa, through the passenger's side after impact made the driver door impossible to open.

He said: "He was such a young, good looking lad. It's such a great waste.

"He was only young and in the prime of his life.

"I've been told he lived locally, in Belmont or Cheam, one of the roads off here.

"It was a side impact on the driver's door side.

"There are marks on the tree, the door could not be opened.

"I had to climb in through the passenger side.

"I got in with my torch but couldn't see any vital signs.

"Two police cars came up at a fantastic speed.

"They were fantastic, they were trying to rip the car apart by hand to get to him.

"They had to cut the car apart to get him out to try to resuscitate him."

The man and his wife heard the crash from the back of their Sandy Lane home at about 11.35pm, the sound felt so close they thought something had struck their house.

He said: "We looked out of the window and could see two guys standing there by the car.

"One was on his phone.

"He had been walking up the hill on this side of the road and saw the car coming towards the tree.

"He had to jump out of the way and into one of the gardens as the car was coming straight at him."

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He added: "Police asked everybody to go back inside there houses at about 12.10am.

"Later police came round to the house, at about 1.30am to interview us and on Sunday there was a plain-clothed officer at the site.

"We were in the back room when we heard it.

"We thought something had hit the house or that something had landing on the roof or hit the window."

Sutton police later confirmed that the 20-year-old, who was alone in the car, had died in the crash.

Police believe no other vehicles were involved.

Anyone that can help police should call South West Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 020 8543 5157 as they continue their appeal for witnesses.

To leave a tribute email newsdesk@suttonguardian.co.uk