A DEVOTED father discovered he was suffering from a brain haemorrhage after he diagnosed his condition on the Internet.

Despite being taken to hospital, postman Gavin Davison died only days later from a massive stroke.

The 33-year-old turned to the Internet after he suddenly experienced blinding headaches at his home in Bensham Road, Darlington.

His son, Arron, 13, returned home to find him in agony, so the pair entered his symptoms into a search engine.

It was then he realised he was having a brain haemorrhage.

His 31-year-old wife, Mandy, said: "He knew it was serious because he had never felt pain like it in his life.

"He was a very fit and healthy man, so it has really come as a shock to us all.

"None of us can actually believe what has happened."

Mr Davison married his childhood sweetheart in a fairytale wedding on July 26 last year.

The pair won the £8,000 wedding in a competition on radio station Alpha 103.2FM after they told how they had been together for 15 years.

He began feeling unwell on August 5 and was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital before he was transferred to the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, for an operation.

The aneurysm was successfully treated, but he died on August 12 after he suffered a massive stroke.

Mrs Davison said: "It is like someone was watching over us and knew what was going to happen, because we had the most perfect wedding day.

"We would have been together forever and what makes this even more tragic is that we knew the best times were still to come."

She described her husband as a fantastic father who spent his spare time with sons Arron, and Aiden, nine.

He used to submit reports of matches with Darlington Spraire Lads, for which both his sons played, to The Northern Echo's sister paper, The Advertiser.

Mrs Davison said: "He knew loads of people and he always had a smile and a word for people."

His parents, Mike and Val Davison, of Orchard Road, Darlington, said he was like a modern day Good Samaritan.

Mr Davison said: "He was a really cracking lad and a devoted family man."

His funeral will be held at 11.45am on Tuesday at Darlington Crematorium, followed by a gathering at The Traveller's Rest, Cockerton.