The family of Callum Oakford, killed on New Year's Day in a horrific road accident, have spoken of their sorrow.

They released a picture of the fun-loving nine-year-old, known as CJ, taken during New Year's Eve celebrations. It was one of the last happy moments he would share with his family.

The Durrington schoolboy was killed on New Year's Day as he stepped into the path of a car driven by Kamel Kadri, 38, an illegal immigrant driving with no insurance or driving licence.

CJ's family released the picture yesterday as they spoke of their sorrow.

His mother Lynn Oakford told how her son, who she described as "the most fun-loving boy she knew", was on his way to build a camp with his friends and 12-year-old brother Sam when tragedy struck.

CJ was thrown into the air after stepping into the path of the Renault 5 on the A259 Littlehampton Road at Ferring, near Worthing.

Mrs Oakford said she had told CJ not to go near there but, she said, "boys will be boys."

Holding the hands of her two daughters Kathryn, 22, and Sarah, 19, Mrs Oakford fought back tears as she read out a tribute to her son at a press conference at Sussex Police's Worthing headquarters yesterday.

She told how his eldest sister had given birth during the Christmas holidays, making CJ an uncle.

She said: "I cannot begin to try and say how I am feeling at the moment. We are all still very stunned and shocked by what has happened to our baby CJ.

"He was always trying to help and loved to make people laugh.

"His love of football and basketball will always be with us, also his love of building. If he was not trying to build a camp in the garden, he wanted to try DIY in the house - he called it helping.

"His extremely cheeky attitude and smile managed to get him in and out of mischief. His overwhelming energy will always be missed and he managed to keep us feeling young and energetic at all times.

"The world will be wrongly quiet without him - a brother, a son and a so-proud recent uncle will never be forgotten.

"He loved school so much. If he were unwell or unable to go, he would get upset.

"We are all going to miss CJ so much. He is my baby man, the one who would come and give me a cuddle every night on the sofa. And especially if Sam or I were upset, he would be the one too cheer us up."

A special tribute was paid by CJ's brother who had designed a poster titled: "Things CJ loved doing".

Next to a laughing, cartoon face, it read: "This was CJ, all ways laughing and pulling stupid faces. But if he was not doing that, he was doing what he done best which was playing his favourite sport, basketball and football, or building bases or other useful things. Love always from Sam."

The family also expressed their anger at why Kadri, who entered the UK under a stolen passport, was able to drive a car.

CJ's sister Kathryn said: "As for the man who killed CJ, I cannot express how we are feeling at the moment. I so wish he was unable to get hold of a car, let alone be here illegally."

Mrs Oakford said she wished there was more evidence to enable police to charge Kadri with death by dangerous driving.

She said: "I am not a prejudiced person and that is not the issue for me at the moment.

"If the evidence had been there the charge could have been one of death by dangerous driving but unfortunately the evidence was not there.

"People cannot get away with this. Maybe it's time that car insurance had to be displayed like a tax disc so people cannot get away with this."

On Monday at Worthing Magistrates Court, Kadri admitted possessing a fake passport, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident and having no insurance or driving licence. He was remanded in custody until February 6 when he will be sentenced at Chichester Crown Court.

The tragic news of CJ's death was broken to his classmates at Orchards Middle School, in Nelson Road, Worthing, yesterday.

Teachers had been liaising with police since Friday to ensure pupils were helped through the heartbreaking time.

Headteacher Paul Jones said: "It's been a difficult day for us. The children did not come back until Tuesday because we had staff training.

"The first thing we had to do was break the news to those who did not know what had happened, then we celebrated his life and paid respects to his family. It was quite a difficult assembly - he was very popular.

"He enjoyed his football and was a keen goalkeeper.

"For some, the news was broken to them for the first time. For the others, it became a bit more real.

"They have been fantastic in the respect they showed in assembly. They understand the importance of the school community staying strong."

The school will be holding a five-minute silence during a funeral for CJ. The funeral will be held at an undisclosed location in Worthing next Wednesday.

Superintendent Nick Wilkinson, of the Sussex road policing unit, agreed insurance discs could help but added: "I would not say that controls are currently slack. There are 1,100 no-insurance prosecutions in Sussex every year from vehicles stopped on the road."

Tex Pemberton, West Sussex County Council's transport executive, said the number of accidents on the A259 at the spot where Callum was run over had plummeted since the speed limit was reduced from 70mph to 50mph three years ago.

Police today appealed for anyone with any other information regarding the accident to come forward.