TRIBUTES have been paid to a “beautiful and well-respected” York mum who died suddenly after suffering an asthma attack.

Emma Louise Thompson, 31, of Clifton, died at York Hospital after complaining of shortness of breath linked to her asthma.

She leaves three young daughters – Georgia, eight, Stevie-Grace, four, Emmie, ten-months-old – and her fiance, Stephen Ward.

Her sister, Marie, said Emma was a very popular person with many close friends.

She said: “Emma was a beautiful, well respected, polite young woman with her whole life ahead of her with her fiancé and three wonderful little girls.

“Emma never had a bad word to say about anyone. She was the life and soul of any party. Emma loved her family and friends and she loved life. She had the biggest of smiles and was not only a family member but our best friend. We will miss her forever.”

A full-time mum to her daughters, the former Queen Anne School pupil had suffered asthma attacks in the past and had gone to hospital for treatment.

She went to hospital by taxi shortly after midnight on October 23 and died that day, her sister said.

Marie 33, said: “We knew she had asthma but we didn’t know it was this bad.

“This is a sad time for us all and none of us expected this so we had nothing in place if anything like this were to happen.

“Times are hard and are going to get harder with Christmas around the corner. We are all going to be there for the children.

“It’s not sinking in. We are all trying to be there for each other.”

Emma, of Peter Hill Court, had also had another daughter, Danni-May, who died as a baby.

She leaves her parents Clive and Sue, and her other sister Julie and brothers Phillip, Daniel and Damien.

Her funeral takes place tomorrow at 10.30am at St Philip and St James Church in Clifton, followed by a private burial for family and close friends at Fulford Cemetery.

Asthma is a condition that affects the airways.

When a person with asthma comes into contact with an asthma trigger, the muscles around the walls of the airways tighten and the airways become narrower.

The common symptoms of asthma are coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest.

There are about 5.4 million people in the UK receiving receiving treatment for asthma, Asthma UK said.

There were 1,143 deaths from asthma in the UK in 2010.