THE children of a former Basingstoke man who died when his boat fell on him has paid an emotional tribute to a father 'who could bring a smile to anyone's face'.

Kevin Keeler, 56, was carrying out repairs beneath the 29ft yacht at the Weymouth Sailing Club site on Monday when it suddenly toppled over on top of him.

Despite attempts by paramedics to save him, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Keeler lived in the Cranbourne area for 30 years before moving away around two years ago and four of his five children still live in Basingstoke.

He leaves behind sons Jason, 30, a swimming teacher; and Oscar, 12; and daughters April, 27, a doctor training to be a GP; Wendy, 25, a teaching assistant; and Fiona, 22, a product designer.

A family statement read: "Our dad is a man who could bring a smile to anyone's face.

"We will cherish our memories together in our hearts and continue to make him proud of who we become.

"We love you so much daddy, we all miss you."

Mr Keeler, who ran his own business as a consultant software engineer, had taken his boat out of the harbour to carry out two weeks of maintenance to it.

Both Dorset Police and the Health and Safety Executive have launched investigations into the incident.

The boat had been sat on a metal frame with the hull raised 3ft off the ground before the tragic accident happened.

The Health and Safety Executive investigation will look into the possibility that one side of the metal cradle buckled or collapsed, causing the boat to tip over onto Mr Keeler, a kee supporter of the charity Chesil Sailability.

A statement on the sailing club's website from commodore Euan McNair read: "Emergency services attended very quickly and took control of the situation, but unfortunately a man died at the scene.

"The whole sailing club is obviously devastated at this tragic incident and our thoughts go out to the families concerned."

A fellow club member told the Gazette's sister paper the Dorset Echo: "He was a lovely fella, a really nice guy.

"He was affable, approachable and complimentary about everybody else's sailing technique."