TRIBUTES have been paid to a life of the party father who died just days after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Dave Aldersley was put into an induced coma after being rushed to hospital.

Just hours after hearing her dad was in hospital, Jasmine Foley was told there was little doctors could do to save his life.

But as Dave, 46, was on the organ donor’s register, his liver was able to be used to save someone’s life.

Jasmine, of Shrub End, Colchester, said: “We went in to see him on the Sunday morning and we were called to come back the same day because of how serious it was.

“As he was an organ donor they had to be really specific with the processes they went through to protect him.

“He eventually died on the Thursday. In some way it was good because it have us a few more days to come to come to terms with things.

“He had no idea he had a brain tumour - he didn’t like going to the hospital or to the doctors. Before he got taken to hospital he was at a friend’s house and he must have felt really bad to have called an ambulance.

“He was always someone to try to look after other people first.”

Jasmine, 22, who was Dave’s only child paid tribute to her dad. She said: “He was a happy, lovely person - the life of the party.

“Whenever we would go out in town for lunch you would always bump into someone he had not seen for years and would want to stop and have a chat and the reaction would always be really warm.”

Dave worked as a handyman and a gardener across Colchester, but was known by almost everyone by the affectionate nickname of Captain.

Jasmine said: “If people referred to him as Dave then we would be shocked.

“It came about when he was really young and in a house share. For some reason he came back one day and captain was written on the door. It just stuck from there.”

Days after he died, a lifelong friend of Dave’s - Victoria Heddle - set up a fundraising page to help pay for funeral costs.

Victoria said: “He was always bouncing around, smiling and telling stories - he was like a human Tigger.”

Jasmine said she was shocked but delighted at the gesture which has raised nearly £1,000.

She said: “It was something I was going to do myself, but it was amazing someone else had thought about trying to help us.

“Freedom Funerals at the Hythe have been so helpful and made everything really easy.”

The funeral has been set for January 18 at Colchester Crematorium at 11.45am with all who knew him welcome to attend.

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