A TRIBUTE has been paid to "a great lad" from Bohunt Community School who was found hanged at his home in Headley Down on Sunday night.

The Liphook school was shocked to hear of the death of Dan "Danny" Thorne (16) who was a year 11 pupil.

He was the son of Nigel and Susan, and had a brother and sister, Steven and Laura.

Bohunt headteacher Alan Taylor-Bennett told The Herald that Danny was well liked and would be greatly missed by everyone at the school.

"Obviously when we heard it came as a terrible shock on Monday morning and the school was a very quiet place," he said.

"He was liked and respected by fellow pupils and the staff, and had a great sense of humour and a very dry wit.

"He was a very sociable lad and very popular.

"Dan was a very loyal person and had a close group of friends which he was very close to, and was very supportive of them. Obviously they are devastated by this."

Pupils at the school have been offered counselling to help them come to terms with Danny's death.

Mr Taylor-Bennett said: "He was liked by a large number of the children and a lot of the staff and we have put a support system in place to help the children and staff come to terms with this."

Extra support is also being given to his younger sister Laura who is a year 7 pupil at Bohunt.

"Obviously we will be giving her a great amount of support," the head teacher said.

Danny was a member of the school's football team and played his last game for them last Friday.

Mr Taylor-Bennett said that his teammates had been unsure whether to carry on and play without him with their first game only three days after his death.

"He was a great footballer and was really enthusiastic which was infectious to all of the other people around him.

"The team have decided to carry on playing for Danny and will be wearing black arm bands."

Mr Taylor-Bennett said that Danny joined Bohunt Community School as a year 7 pupil.

"He has left a great hole at the school."

Officers at Whitehill Police Station are not treating his death as suspicious.

A funeral has been arranged to take place on Thursday, March 21 at All Saints Church, Headley, at 2 pm followed by a cremation in Guildford.

All friends are welcome to attend the service.

An inquest into Dan Thorne's death will take place on May 22 in Basingstoke.