A BOY who was a popular figure in skateparks around York has died aged 11 - just four days after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Mckenzie Doherty passed away on January 8 at Leeds General Infirmary.

His heartbroken mum Sinead Doherty paid tribute to the youngster, who lived in Dodsworth Avenue, in the Huntington Road area of York, saying he was “loved by everyone that knew him”.

She said: “Life is never going to be the same for us. I am so lost.

“He was my life, my everything. We were constantly together.

“I never got a break from him and I loved that.

“He was loved by everyone that knew him.”

Mckenzie, known to his friends as ‘mad-dog’ and ‘macca’, was a popular figure in skate parks around the city.

He would travel to various skate parks including Rowntree Park, The Zoo Skatepark and skate parks in Selby and Easingwold, which led to many people knowing him.

Mckenzie’s brother, Dylan, said: “A lot of people from the places he used to go to have told us that it’s not going to be the same without him running around.”

Sinead said how Mckenzie was a “huge character,” and was “very, very popular,” both where he lived and in the areas which he would visit.

She said those that knew Mckenzie’s described him as a “cheeky little lad,” and said he had an “infectious smile”.

Mckenzie attended Danesgate School in Fulford Cross from the age of five, which he was a “big part of”.

Family and friends of Mckenzie gathered in his memory at Rowntree Park’s skate park on Sunday, January 12.

They chose the venue as Mckenzie would often go there with his friends to ride his scooter, which was one of his favourite hobbies.

Sinead added: “His hands were always black from messing around with his scooter.”

The memorial meeting was set up by young people who knew Mckenzie.

Tributes to Mckenzie, including flowers, pictures and balloons spelling out ‘Ride For Macca’, were left in the park.

A number of blue balloons were also let off into the sky in his memory, while they played some of Mckenzie’s favourite music.

Many tributes have been posted online to Mckenzie by the people who knew him on social media websites, including Facebook and Instagram.

A hashtag - #rideformacca - was set up in his honour, and each post remembering Mckenzie was tagged.

The tributes online include pictures and videos of Mckenzie riding his scooter.

Mckenzie would use social media pages to share videos of him on his scooter.

A GoFundMe page has been set up in his memory to support his mother and the rest of his family.

The page has raised more than £1,300 in just more than a week so far.

The GoFundMe page can be found at: bit.ly/363pkuQ

Donations were also collected at the memorial meet up.

Mckenzie’s funeral will be held on January 28 at St George’s Church in George Street, at 10am.

The family have asked for those who attend to bring flowers if they wish to.