TRIBUTES have been paid to an Essex University student who died suddenly at home.

Aaron Wells, 21, was found dead in bed the day after he returned home from university to spend Christmas with his family.

Now his heartbroken parents, Tony and Lorna, have launched a £3,000 fundraising campaign to help pay his burial costs and fund a headstone.

Family and friends from Essex travelled to Hampshire, where Aaron was from, to pay their final respects.

Lorna, 44, will never forget the moment she went into Aaron’s room and realised something was seriously wrong.

Tony rushed to her aid and performed CPR on his son as well as putting him in the recovery position.

An ambulance crew arrived soon afterwards but were unable to save him.

The family are still awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination.

Aaron, who was studying at Essex University, suffered from epilepsy and it is believed he may have suffered a fatal fit.

Lorna described him as a caring boy who had spent six months helping to look after his seriously ill father.

She told the Gazette’s sister paper the Daily Echo: “Aaron was a kind-hearted, happy-go-lucky lad who lived life to the full and never had a bad word to say about anyone.

“He brought so much joy to people’s lives.

“People came down from Essex and one person even cut short his holiday so he could be there.”

Tony, 55, was diagnosed with cancer last year and saw his weight plummet to eight stones in weight.

Aaron temporarily abandoned his studies and returned home for six months to help care for Tony, washing and dressing him whenever Lorna could not.

Her GoFundMe page says: “Aaron was with us all through the treatment. He watched his dad suffer every single day but always kept his spirits up. My husband is only in semi-remission. Aaron kept us going.”

To donate go online and visit gf.me/v/c/gfm/aaron-wells.