A dance community is in mourning for the death of a music-loving teenager killed in a canoeing accident.

Members of the Pitsea-based Choo Choo Club were devastated to hear the sad news about 17-year-old Jacob Elliott, known to his friends as Jake.

The news was particularly heart-rending as he had been due to DJ at the club's next dance in Vange on Saturday night.

Jake, who lived in East London, was at the annual War and Peace Military Festival in Beltring, Kent, when the accident happened.

He has been attending dances at St Chad's Village Hall in Clay Hill Road, Vange, for several years with his dad Terry, who is the regular DJ.

The club offers 40s and 50s dance music and attracts crowds from all over the country.

Julie Gordon of Pitsea, one of Choo Choo's organisers, said today: "This has been such a shock to us all. We were actually on our way down to Kent to join Jake and his dad when we heard the news.

"We didn't go, we couldn't bear to. Being a mum makes it even worse. On Saturday, we had decided to let Jake do his own Western Swing Night instead of helping his dad. We had changed the format of the evening for him and he had decided to DJ under the name of Jumpin' Jake.

"We have cancelled the evening now. We want to stage a dance in memory of him but we feel Saturday is too soon so it will be our Hawaiian night on August 28."

Jake's love of music even won him a part dancing in the movie Swing, which was released this summer.

Julie added: "He had really been looking forward to this Saturday. We were laughing and joking because he was going to take over from his dad. We even called them the Brady Bunch because they got on so well."

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