A grandfather died in the Shoreham air disaster after parking his motorbike on the outskirts to take photographs of the planes, his family revealed.

Mark Reeves.

Mark Reeves, 53, had never been to the Shoreham Airshow before tragedy struck when a vintage Hawker Hunter jet plummeted on to the A27 in West Sussex.

Computer–aided design technician Mr Reeves, from Seaford, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, was among at least 11 people who died in the disaster on Saturday afternoon.

His family said he was combining two of his favourite hobbies of riding his cherished Honda bike to take photographs at the popular airshow when the crash happened.

In a statement, they said: “As many times before he had travelled to an airshow and parked up on the outskirts to grab the best photos, but he had never been to the Shoreham Airshow before.

“We will remember him as a gentle, loving, incredibly giving family man, husband to Wendy, father to Luke, granddad to three beautiful granddaughters, brother to Denise and loving son of Ann and Kenneth.”

Drawn by a love for the sea, Reeves – described as a “sunworshipper” often seen relaxing with a cocktail in hand on holiday – moved with his family to Seaford nine years ago.

He will be missed by so many

Relatives added: “He will be missed by so many, not least the doctors and staff at the Seaford medical practice where Wendy works, who, like everyone who met Mark, were touched by his generosity, caring nature and overwhelmingly genuine, caring nature.

“We thank everyone who has sent their love, condolences and prayers and while we appreciate that many others will be experiencing similar unspeakable grief in such tragic and public circumstances, (we ask) that we now be allowed to grieve ourselves in private and in peace.”

Mr Reeves becomes the seventh person to be named out of at least 11 victims who died in the weekend disaster.

Four other victims include Worthing United footballers and best friends Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt, both 23, who were on their way to play in a match when they were killed.

Personal trainer Matt Jones, 24, also died, along with wedding chauffeur Maurice Abrahams, 76, a former soldier who had served in the Parachute Regiment.

Motorcyclist Mark Trussler and Daniele Polito, a father from Worthing, are both missing and are also feared to have been killed in the tragedy.

The A27 has been closed since the crash, and Sussex Police said it is due to reopen on Bank Holiday Monday.

As hundreds of floral tributes continue to be laid at a bridge near the scene, West Sussex senior coroner Penny Schofield said the formal identification of the victims has begun. But the plane crashed with such force that specialists – including forensic archaeologists, anthropologists, odontologists and pathologists – are having to examine the DNA, teeth and human remains to discover who was killed .

Schofield said: “Recovery of all the remains from the scene is almost complete due to the extremely hard work and dedication of police teams and archaeologists, who have been working in extremely difficult conditions.

“We will now begin the formal process of identifying all the victims of this horrific tragedy.

“Recovering all the remains has been a very slow and painstaking operation, but it has been necessary to ensure we establish, without doubt, individual positive identifications.”

Schofield has met with the families to explain the process and, once identification is complete, she will open inquests into the deaths.

The plane wreckage has been sent to Farnborough, Hampshire, where Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigators will seek to find out what caused the crash. An interim report is due in the next few days.