Parents have paid tribute to a "bubbly, friendly" young sailor who died after becoming lost on a night out.

Steve Moule, 21, of Hawksmoor Road, Crawley, was found dead in an estuary after visiting friends.

His parents John and Dawn Moule said Steve would be remembered as a happy young man who lived for the Royal Navy.

Steve took a wrong turning after a night out in Walton, Essex, on Friday.

He was found dead in an estuary the following morning. The death is not being treated as suspicious.

Steve was one of the 1,600-strong crew of HMS Illustrious, based at Portsmouth.

So many people want to attend his funeral, being organised by the Royal Navy, that the family have had to book extra time at Crawley crematorium.

Steve had been in the Navy for three years and had been posted to Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta.

He was shortly to embark on a five-month tour.

His mother, 46, said Steve wanted to join the Navy straight after leaving Holy Trinity School but she and her husband persuaded him to try some other jobs beforehand. He tried his hand at office work but he soon pursued his real passion of going to sea.

Mr Moule, 45, said: "It was his life."

His wife said Steve was popular and well-liked.

She said: "He was bubbly and very friendly. He was a very happy person. There was nothing bad about him. I couldn't find anything bad about him. He didn't do anything wrong.

"He had his head screwed on right from the beginning. People just liked him."

The couple have three other children, Joanne, 17, Christine, 15, and Richard, 12.

Steve was planning to become engaged to his girlfriend Sam Mott this year.

He met the 19-year-old office worker from Pound Hill three years ago while they were both in the Sea Cadets.

Keen on a healthy lifestyle, Steve rarely drank and never smoked.

He loved his car, a blue Peugeot 206 diesel turbo, which he maintained himself and was always polishing.

Steve enjoyed sub aqua diving but had not done much of it since joining the Navy.

Mrs Moule said: "When he was home he was with Sam or with us. He was very family orientated."

Steve had just returned from a three-week posting and was to go on leave and stay with his family for a night before returning to his ship.

He died after saying goodnight to his friends and taking the wrong turning along the coast on the way home.

Mr Moule said: "He had a few drinks. Apparently it is absolutely pitch black there."

At his funeral, Steve's family plan to play two songs from Armageddon, his favourite film - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith and Remember Me by Journey.

They said they wished to thank Lee Unwin, 33, a family friend who was "like an uncle" to Steve and who has been supporting them since news of his death.

The funeral will take place at Crawley crematorium on either next Tuesday or Wednesday at 4.30pm. The date should be decided within a couple of days.