DOZENS of Maurice Abraham’s friends and neighbours stood at the spot where was regularly seen polishing his beloved Daimler a week after he was killed in the Shoreham Airshow disaster.

As crowds flocked to Shoreham to pay their respects and hold a minute’s silence for the lives lost – his family decided to mark the occasion where he was often seen giving a jovial wave or making a cheeky joke - at the Brow in Woodingdean.

Maurice’s wife Edwina, 60, laid a single sunflower from the last bunch of flowers her husband gave her on the green opposite the home they shared for more than 25 years.

Together with her children Elizabeth, 34 and Edward, 24, and friends and neighbours full of praise for the man they described as a “true gent” observed a minute’s silence at 1.20pm on Saturday.

Mrs Abrahams said: “We thought it would be so busy in Shoreham so we wanted to do it here where everyone knows him.

“The police said they would take us if we wanted to go, but we felt this was right for us and for him.

“The police and everyone has been fantastic.

“We have had so many cards form people with such lovely things to say about Maurice.”

Neighbours who regularly watched Maurice turning his limo on the grass came out in their droves to pay their respects to his family.

Anne Tomsett who lives opposite said: “He was a real gentleman, a true gent.

“He was always being a joker, he was a very friendly and happy man.

“He would drive up on to the green and say ‘where you off to now?’

“I’m going to miss him.”

Mrs Tomsett said her daughter was one of the hundreds of brides who Maurice had treated like a princess on her wedding day.

“My daughter works for the police and when she saw the pictures of that car come in she just broke down.

“She immediately knew that was the car that drove her to her wedding”

Sheila Day said Maurice used to regularly help her out at the nursery where she works – even playing Santa Claus at Christmas.

“He was always helping out and popping by for a cup of tea," she said.

“He did my wedding too.

“He was a great man. It was an honour and a pleasure knowing him.”