Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to a 'most lovely' dad-of-five who died suddenly following a heart attack while on holiday this summer.

Saul Giddings was just 49 years old when he sadly died following a sudden heart attack on August 27 whilst holidaying with family in Morocco.

The much-loved dad of five and grandad of two worked as the manager of Asda Darlington and was just over a month away from taking part in a charity walk raising funds for breast cancer charity Tickled Pink.

Now, the team is set to complete the walk in his name on October 6 starting at Darlington's Asda and ending at Saul's local pub, The Penny Black in Stockton.

Saul Giddings, 49.Saul Giddings, 49. (Image: GOFUNDME)

One of Saul's colleagues, Joanne Lowe, has paid tribute to his life, saying the whole team were "devastated" when they heard the news.

She told The Northern Echo: "He was the most bubbly, lovely and funniest man you could ever meet. He was the life and soul of the store - if you walked in feeling down he could pick you back up in a minute.

"He called everybody 'kid', as he was from Stockton - he was just so lovely and the best boss we have ever had. It's such a shame."

Speaking about the walk  Ms Lowe said: "Myself and Saul had planned to do this walk with people from the store to boost our fundraising this year. All of that was set in place but he is unfortunately not here to do it.

"But, as a store we want to do it in his memory as he was a huge fundraiser himself - his goal was for this walk to reach £2,000."

Recommended:

Get more content including the stories that matter to your community from The Northern Echo for just £3 for 3 months for a limited time only here.

Despite the fundraiser only being open for a few days, donations have flown in and the page is just shy of £1,000.

He said: "We have only just decided that we were definitely going to do it. It was at £20 then all of a sudden it's at £980.

"We have had a lot of support from the store and everyone taking part."