Heartfelt tributes have poured in for a 5-year-old boy who died in Upper Hutt on Monday.
Paxton Leofo, known to loved ones as Pacca, died in a "freak accident" involving a vehicle on a rural property, a family spokesperson said.
His rugby club, the Upper Hutt Junior Rams, took to Facebook to celebrate his memory.
"Our hearts are so heavy and our thoughts and prayers are with Lydia, Mavi, Diesyl & the extended Vaughan-Leofo Whānau, the post read.
"Paxton is absolutely adored by his Toby Crosby team and his legacy will forever live on in their hearts.
"We are truely honoured and blessed to have Paxton in our Rams Whānau."
The senior Rams team also shared a tribute, remembering Pacca as "a happy smiling young man with a twinkle in his eyes".
"We all know that we cannot judge a biography by its length or the number of pages in it; we must judge it by the richness of its content – and if you saw the twinkle in his eye even for just a moment, you would know that in Paxton’s case the content was very rich indeed," the team wrote.
Paxton's primary school, Plateau School in Te Mārua, shared their grief over his passing.
"Our deepest condolences go out to Lydia, Mavi and Diesyl. We offer aroha and support to their whānau at this very sad time, and into the future," the school said.
A Givealittle page was started by Plateau School on Wednesday to raise funds for Paxton's family to go towards bills, food and household expenses.
"We are a close community who care about each other. At times like this we will continue to support each other. This Givealittle page has been established as a practical way of offering support, should you wish," the page reads.
The page has raised $7,290 as of 12.30pm Thursday.
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