A 12-YEAR-OLD cyclist killed on the A420 was a “polite and friendly” boy, villagers have said.

Southmoor was yesterday in mourning following the death of the boy, named locally as Mateusz Kucinski on the weekend.

The Matthew Arnold School pupil, known as Matty, died in hospital following a collision with a car on the A420 westbound near the junction with Charney Road on Saturday afternoon.

There were also calls last night to slow drivers down following the second death on the road in seven days.

Flowers were laid yesterday by the side of the A420 close to where Matty, who lived in Cherrytree Close, was fatally injured.

One tribute left at the scene read: “You will never be forgotten. You were a good friend and a lovely, polite, happy young man. RIP.”

Neil Weller, owner of the Log Cabin newsagents, said the boy had been a close friend of his son’s.

He said: “Telling your son that one of his mates has died is one of the hardest things. It makes it all the more harder to comprehend.

“It still does not feel like it has happened.”

The former parish council member said Matty – a former John Blandy Primary School pupil – would pop in to the shop before school every morning to buy energy drinks and sweets.

He added: “When he stayed at our house he called me ‘sir’. He was always polite.

“Everyone is gobsmacked. He was not a recluse. He tried to make so many friends. He did move in circles and was close with everybody.”

There were 21 fatal collisions on the A420 between 2002 and 2012, and a Swindon man in his 30s died after a collision between Buckland and Highworth on Sunday, April 6.

Vale of White Horse District, Oxfordshire County and Swindon Borough councils have agreed to look at potential safety changes.

Yesterday police and highways staff were conducting a traffic management review following Saturday’s crash.

Matty, an only child, was born in Poland before he moved to Southmoor with his parents.

A woman, who asked not to be named, yesterday said: “Everyone is devastated. He was a lovely lad apparently.

“Everybody says he was a always happy and cheerful.”

Nine-year-old Jake Owen said: “I am going to miss seeing him around the village.”

Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor Parish Council chairman Brian Forster said the A420 road was too dangerous and the speed limit should be lowered.

He said: “It is a notoriously dangerous stretch of road. People are doing 100mph up there as a normal course of events.”

Melinda Tilley, Oxfordshire County Council member for the village, said the parish council had asked her to speak to highways officers about bringing the speed limit down.

She said: “We have all been saying for a long time that it is very dangerous.”