Hundreds pay tribute to king of smiles Hervé

Herv, 27, collapsed while playing for the Blues against Three Bridges at The Caburn on Saturday.

Hundreds of friends and loved ones have spent the week paying tribute to a "wonderful man who always had a smile on his face".

Herv was in his second spell with the club after starting his football career at Burgess Hill with now Ringmer boss Steve Johnson.

The account manager for a London-based marketing company also played for Croydon Athletic, Redhill and Chipstead.

Born in Paris, he grew up in Switzerland and the Democratic Republic of Congo before moving to Croydon at the age of 11. He met his partner, Sarah Benkel, 23, in 2005 and the couple soon moved to Brighton.

His parents and family of three younger brothers and one younger sister were this week too devastated to comment. But heartbroken Sarah (pictured, right, with Herv) told the Sussex Express how the popular Herv would make friends wherever he went.

She said, "He was a happy and very warm and genuine person. He was charming, handsome, smiley '“ he was just amazing.

"He had so many friends, both in Croydon and in Brighton. When we moved down to Brighton he didn't know anyone there other than me. But he made friends so easily. And my family was very close to him.

"I loved him so much. We were very happy and had just bought a house together in Burgess Hill.

"I just don't believe it. I can't talk about it like he's not here. He was the love of my life."

Sarah revealed how she had planned a surprise holiday to Spain for herself and Herv to celebrate what would have been his 28th birthday, next Tuesday. The couple would have jetted off on Sunday.

A group to commemorate Herv's memory was set up hours after his death on the social networking site Facebook. An incredible 517 people had joined at the time of going to press yesterday (Thursday).

More than a hundred comments have been posted paying tribute to Herv's good nature and happy demeanour.

One post, by a friend called Danielle, wrote, "I will never forget that laugh of yours!", while Sarah added, "That cheeky smile is still so clear". And Roger described Herv as "a wonderful man...always smiling, never had a bad word to say about anyone."

Herv was a keen Arsenal fan. Sarah revealed that the Gunners planned to pay tribute to the Ringmer player in one of their match programmes later in the season.

Meanwhile, the Sussex football community have been paying their own respects to the tragic footballer.

Ringmer chairman Richard Soan said, "Herv was a very courteous and polite young man with nothing being too much trouble to him.

"He was full of vitality and character, with that wonderful smile. He was a wonderful ambassador to the game of football and a real credit to his family. He will be sadly missed by us all."

Blues boss Steve Johnson, who managed Herv at both Burgess Hill and Ringmer, said, "If someone leaves me once I rarely take them back.

"But Herv King left me three or four times and I always took him back. That is my testimony to him.

"As a manager I would love to have 11 Herv Kings. He was a pleasure to work with as a manager. When I first got the Ringmer job he was the first player I rang. I made him captain and built a team around him."

Johnson added, "He was a lovely person and his smile enriched everybody. The volume of messages of condolence we are getting from everyone in Sussex shows how popular he was."

A memorial fund has been set up by Ringmer FC. A number of fundraising events will be held to raise cash in Herv memory.

Ringmer's scheduled game on Tuesday night against Redhill was postponed but tomorrow's game with Eastbourne United will go ahead.