Haverhill sisters, 10 and 12, to complete walk in honour of their uncle, Damian McNutt, 31, who drowned in River Nene, Peterborough

Two Haverhill schoolgirls are to walk around a playing field 31 times in honour of their ‘bubbly, loving’ uncle, who died last weekend at the age of 31.

Sisters Kyla-Beth, 12, and Bella-Rae, 10, pupils at Castle Manor Academy and Clements Primary Academy, respectively, will complete one circuit of Motts Field for each year of the life of their uncle, Damian McNutt, who drowned in the River Nene in Peterborough.

Known to everyone as Damo, Mr McNutt, a dad-of-three, entered the river at 2pm on Friday, May 24 and despite being a strong swimmer got into difficulty.

His body was recovered at 11am the next day, barely 50 metres from where he entered the water.

His family - which includes four brothers and six sisters - has launched a gofundme page to help cover the costs of transporting his body for burial, the funeral and memorial service expenses and to support his three children, all aged under 12.

One of his sisters. Shannon Sloane, who also grew up in Haverhill but now lives in Scunthorpe, said the family wants to have Damo buried in Denham, near Bury St Edmunds, with his dad, John McNutt (who also died aged just 31, in 1997), and grandad, Raymond Crack, who died in July 2022.

Shannon explained how Kyla-Beth and Bella-Rae came up with the fund-raising idea themselves.

“His nieces came up with this idea themselves, which is amazing.

“They want to help with the fund-raising in their own way because they know we are trying to raise money for his funeral and for supporting his three children.

“It’s completely off their own imagination. It’s amazing.

“Damo was such a loving uncle. He loved all his nieces and nephews.”

Shannon continued: “He absolutely adored his own children.

“He would do anything for them.”

Her brother, said Shannon, no longer lived in Haverhill but would return to see family and friends on a regular basis, and was ‘known and loved’ by many in the town. Mr McNutt, who was sometimes known by the surname of Peters, lived in Haverhill for 10 years.

He attended Clements Primary, Chalkstone Middle and Samuel Ward schools.

Of her brother, Shannon went on to say: “He was so loving. A loving son, dad, brother and uncle who was loved by so many.

“He touched so many lives, just being a smiley person. His smile was infectious. It would just brighten up any room that he entered.

“He was always making sure that our mum was looked after first, always such a loving son, nothing was too big for our mum.

“He had time for everyone, nothing was too small for them. He was always proud of the achievements that us siblings made. He was always sure to tell us he was proud.

“Whenever he was around you just couldn’t help but smile because he had such an infectious smile.

“Damo always visited Haverhill and visited his friends in Haverhill. He made his presence known wherever he was. He was just a friendly, bubbly person that everyone knew.”

Shannon also spoke of the impact on his family of Damo’s sudden death.

“We were completely shocked. It’s the hardest thing that my mum has ever had to go through.

“All of us gathered to make sure that we were all together, including his children, comforting one another. It was completely unexpected.”

Bella-Rae and Kyla-Beth will complete their walk around Motts Field on Sunday, June 9.