THE family of a fisherman who died when his ship sank off the coast of Newhaven say he "will never be replaced".

Robert Morley was one of two crew members who lost their lives in the Joanna C tragedy last year.

Captain Dave Bickerstaff was pulled from the water by lifeboat crews after he was found holding on to a lifebuoy almost four hours after the sinking, while the body of third crew member Adam Harper, 26, was recovered by divers days later.

On the anniversary of Robert's death, his stepfather Barry Woolford described him as "one in a million" who has been "missed terribly".

In an emotional tribute after a vigil in the men's memory on Sunday night, he told The Argus: "He was the joker in the pack and had such a laugh on him.

"He was good fun and worked hard. It has been hard without him.

"Yesterday was very emotional, it was a tremendous turnout last night.

"We have raised over £25,000 now and have been today to look at the sculpture [in memory of the men] and it is going to be stunning.

"It is heartwarming, you really have to say it is absolutely amazing the response.

"The text messages I've had, literally hundreds.

"I can't find anybody that had a bad word from Robert. He will never be replaced. He was one in a million."

He spoke after hundreds gathered at the vigil in the town's harbour on Sunday to remember the pair lost in the tragedy, with friends and family laying candles and flowers at the memorial site.

RNLI crews who took part in the major search and rescue mission last year were among those to take part in a two-minute silence.

Mechanic Andy Bull was among the dozens of RNLI volunteers who joined in the operation.

A year on from the tragedy, Mr Bull recalled the moment he found David Bickerstaff alive, clinging to a buoy. He was wearing just jeans and a T-shirt.

He said: "After a while of searching you start to question, are we in the right place, while still looking and trying to visualise anything in the water that could be relevant.

"Then it was like a double take. I saw him and called out 'starboard side. There’s someone in the water'.

The Argus: Hundreds paid tribute to the pair last night Hundreds paid tribute to the pair last night

"He’d got a hand up waving and was holding on to the lifebuoy."

The thousands of pounds raised by the family will go towards a memorial to remember those who have lost their lives at sea.

The sculpture will feature an anchor set in concrete, with a pillar and a net full of fish, which will have the names of the dead fisherman engraved on them.

In March, up to 100 people gathered at Fort Road, Newhaven, to pay their respects to Robert at his funeral.

A lone bagpiper played as his body was moved from Fort Road to the site of a temporary memorial 200 metres away.

The harbour fell still as the procession was led to the site, which had been set aside for the crew after the tragedy.