MH17 victim Richard Mayne's parents unveil portrait at Leicester Cathedral

Student Richard Mayne was one of 10 British victims on the MH17 flight from Amsterdam

The parents of a man who died in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 air disaster have unveiled a painting in his memory at Leicester Cathedral.

Richard Mayne was one of 298 people killed on the flight to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed in Ukraine a year ago.

The 20-year-old University of Leeds student had been on his way to Perth, Australia for a work placement.

His family, from Leicester, said it was "uplifting" to see his image displayed in the cathedral.

Mr Mayne was one of 10 Britons killed when the aircraft came down over eastern Ukraine, amid reports it was shot down by pro-Russian rebels.

The portrait, painted by his school friend Madelina Kay, will remain on display at the cathedral until Sunday.

His mother Elizabeth Mayne said: "It captures the essence of him.

"He was cheeky, had a great joy of life and he was always living for the day.

"He was quite determined and ambitious and I think he would have done great things."

A portrait of Mr Mayne is to be displayed in Leicester Cathedral until Sunday

The family had been celebrating the birthday of younger son, William, when they heard the news of the crash in July last year.

"The day changed from being a wonderful celebration for my son's birthday, with different generations of the family, to hell within two minutes," said Mr Mayne's father, Simon.

He said the "staggering" support they had received from friends and family since had helped them through a difficult time.

Mr and Mrs Mayne have also set up the Richard Mayne Foundation to support children in Leicester and Leicestershire with Type 1 diabetes, a condition their son had been diagnosed with aged eight.

Elizabeth and Simon Mayne said news of their son's death had turned a day of celebrations 'to hell within two minutes'