THE grieving mother of a 24-year-old who died suddenly of meningitis said her son had “left behind a lot of love”.

Sam Bearman, of Plains Field, Braintree, died in Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, last Thursday, after the disease caused his brain to swell.

His mother, Cindy Barrett, took him to the emergency clinic at St Michael’s Hospital, Braintree, on Sunday, January 2, after he started being sick.

Mr Bearman was sent home, but developed a headache, so his mother called an ambulance in the early hours of the Wednesday morning.

Mrs Barrett, 46, said: “He felt weak but he said he would be all right.

“We were very concerned about him. There didn’t seem to be any improvement.

“The hospital did everything it possibly could, and his breathing was supported.

“At the hospital the corridors were full of people – the nurses said it was like there was some sort of rock star in there.

“They all came back again the next day.”

Mr Bearman’s life support machine was turned off on Thursday, after a scan revealed the extent of the damage to his brain.

Mrs Barrett said: “You only had to meet him to fall in love with him.

“He lived life to the full and never had a bad word about anybody. He was full of love and full of life.

“One of his mates said Sam was the type of guy that any man wanted to be and any woman wanted to be with.”

Mr Bearman, who worked for a company called Prolog in Sudbury, Suffolk, leaves his father Dane Bearman, 46, his stepfather Lee Barrett, 50, his younger brother Nathan Barrett, 15, and three half-sisters.

Tributes have been posted on his page on the social networking site, Facebook. Lee East wrote: “We can’t stop thinking about you, Bear. It’s so hard. I’m just so grateful I got to have you as a good mate.

Charlie West added: “I miss you so much my heart is breaking.”

Mrs Barrett is planning to organising a music festival to celebrate Sam’s birthday, on August 31, and has booked tribute act The Fillers – Sam’s favourite band were The Killers..

Funeral arrangements have yet to be confirmed.