Hundreds mourn Littlehampton disabled rights champion

He became an advocate for the disabled, raising awareness of what it is like to live with a life-altering condition.
And this will be his lasting legacy, after passing away aged 32 on Wednesday, June 13 at Worthing Hospital following cardiac arrest triggered by a sudden seizure.

On Thursday, 200 people filled Worthing Crematorium for the youth support worker’s funeral, leaving standing room only in the Kingswood chapel. Hundreds more have followed a Facebook page in his memory, and more than £1,200 has been raised in his memory through gofundme.com/sebtrezise.

His widow Hollie, 29, said: “It means so much. Although it is still difficult to read, it has brought a lot of comfort to myself and his mum.

“We never realised how loved he was by so many people, and that would have meant the world to him.

"I am incredibly grateful and overwhelmed by the number of people who turned out to pay their respects to Seb. He would have loved seeing everyone together and I feel we gave a great man a great send off. I will miss him wholeheartedly."

Born in Brighton to parents Andy and Fran, he spent the first five weeks of his life at The Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Eastern Road, Brighton, and had to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Despite this, he was very independent – driving his own car and having many hobbies including angling with the Sportsman Fishing Club, and athletics, having been a member of the British Wheelchair Athletics Association for many years.

For ten years, he worked at Enable Me, a Littlehampton charity delivering disability awareness in schools and workplaces, and was key in growing their youth groups for young people with disabilities.

One of his favourite activities was running P.E. lessons in schools where he would bring in 20 wheelchairs for able-bodied children to play wheelchair basketball.

Hollie said: “His greatest achievement was when he came away from something like that and felt those children were more aware because of what he had done.”

This led to him getting a job at West Sussex County Council as a youth support worker, working with school refusers and children with difficult backgrounds to change their lives.

He met his future wife at Brighton University, and they got married in May 2016 in Tenerife and shared a bungalow together in Fastnet Way, Littlehampton.

An antiques programme enthusiast, Seb also appeared on the hit TV show Bargain Hunt with Hollie in 2012, winning their episode.