THE family of a young man who died after he was hit by a taxi walking home from a night out have launched a charity in his memory.

Ross Paterson, 23, is thought to have been killed instantly when he was struck crossing a bridge in Taunton, in Somerset.

His grief-stricken dad Gerry, 52, said the family had returned to their Glasgow roots because they couldn't cope with living five minutes from where his only son died.

He said: "The heartbreak meant we had to leave.

"I'm from Glasgow and I'm now living five minutes from my three brothers and two sisters. I had a lot of friends in Somerset but you realise there's no substitute for family at a time like this."

Gerry, his wife Sharon and daughter Adele, 25, launched Get Home Safe, spread-headed by Ross's aunt Helen Evans, a medical PA in Somerset.

Gerry, who is now teaching at the private Glasgow Academy, near Great Western Road, said Ross was a passionate sportsman who wanted to be a journalist. He had been on a 'rare' night out when he was killed on March 16 last year.

The first his family knew of the tragedy was when the police knocked at their door in the early hours.

He said: "You only ever see that happening on tv. You don't think it will ever happen.

"There were absolutely no witnesses. There were no cameras on the bridge where it happened."

Gerry, of Lambhill, said Ross - who he nicknamed 'little Peter Pan' because of his 'lovely, polite, old fashioned' qualities - loved chatting with friends and playing on his X-box.

The idea for the charity came from his sister-in-law. "She said she couldn't let it go.

"She works with two young girls of around Ross's age. They thought they should do something."

He said the charity's aim was focusing on education in colleges and universities, with worksheets and interactive exercises.

He added: "There's nothing else like it, it's the first.

"I'm going to stop teaching in the summer and get more involved. I've got a background in education. We want to get in to freshers week, with a stall, and we've secured a presence at Glastonbury festival. I could maybe do T in the Park.

"We will go in to schools and we're getting a film made.

"Young people go out feeling invincible. We just want to get them to realise the devastation this type of event can have. It shouldn't happen, and it doesn't have to."

The charity, which targets those aged 18 to 25, will be launched in Lambhill next month at a private event. For more information see www.gethomesafe.me.uk.