A gym instructor died suddenly after catching a flu-like bug.

Father-of-two Karl Bamberough, who was 26, prided himself on being at the peak of physical fitness.

Yesterday his partner, Penny Taylor, told how Karl was struck down by the bug and died in hospital hours after he was admitted.

Penny, 30, said: "I just feel totally numb and I don't know what I'm going to do without him."

Karl, who had two children from a previous relationship - Connor, eight and 22-month-old Kyle - was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham where his condition rapidly deteriorated.

Penny, a beauty therapist at Bannatyne's gym, Newcastle, where Karl was a fitness instructor, said: "If it had been you or me, the virus would have been picked up much earlier.

"But because Karl was so fit, it masked how poorly he really was."

Hundreds packed Holy Trinity Church in Pelton, County Durham, for Karl's funeral on Friday.

From the home they shared in Perkinsville, near Chester-le-Street, Penny added: "Kyle's too young to understand what's happened, but Connor's been very upset about his daddy.

"I'll remember him as a lovely person who made friends wherever he went."

Friend and fellow personal trainer Michael Pellegrino said: "We were due to go out for a couple of drinks, but he was full of cold and said he couldn't make it. The next day he was dead."

Public health specialist Dr Nigel Calvert said: "It is extremely unusual for someone so young and fit to be affected in this way.

"I would urge anyone who suffers a very bad case of flu to consult a doctor, particularly if the symptoms persist more than a couple of days."