An architect has died after plunging through the roof of the dream home he was building.

David Walton, who had been working on the project for 26 years, fell 14ft on to the concrete floor on Wednesday.

The 70-year-old was found lying on the floor of the house in Ponteland, Northumberland, by his son, Ben, after he returned home from work.

Mr Walton's wife, Pat, had died of breast cancer in 1995 and his son, Sam, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2000, but he had been determined to complete the home.

Last night, Ben described his father as a man whose vision was a "reflection of his personality."

He said: "The house symbolised a lot of what my father believed in. It was an extraordinary design."

Mr Walton moved to the site at Edge Hill in 1979 and his family lived in a caravan as building went on.

In 1989, he designed the Leazes Wing of Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.

In the past year, Mr Walton reached the second round of the Newcastle Byker Regeneration Project with designs for sustainable housing.

His daughter, Lucy Walton, 26, an airline cabin-crew trainer, who lives in Luton, said: "He was an extraordinary man and would have kept on going until he saw his dream completed.

"Now, Ben and I have to finish the house for the whole of the family. I just hope that they are looking down on us and will approve of it."