ASTHMA sufferer Paul Suttle always coped with his illness without complaint, and nobody thought it would take his life so suddenly or at such a young age as 22.

When his mother, Susan Steels, 44, from Thoresby Road, Chapelfields, York, was called to his bedroom in the early hours of Friday to find him struggling for breath, she did not panic.

She calmed him down the way she had many times before, and he seemed to recover and even manage to laugh.

But within minutes, fresh panic registered on his face and he suffered a lengthy asthma attack which worsened despite the best efforts of his family. Further efforts to revive him were made by paramedics, but he was pronounced dead at York District Hospital.

His large family and countless friends are now trying to come to terms with the fact that a lively popular young man, who never suffered badly with the illness, died so suddenly.

Paul's uncle, Colin Chappell, a retired nurse, said: "It's very unusual. At most, asthma's a nuisance in your life and for the last couple of years he'd been not that bad and wouldn't even mention it. He'd have a little attack every now and then and take his inhaler and just get on with it. He didn't let it bother him."

Paul, a fence-maker by trade, was a talented artist and a keen 'bedroom DJ'.

Susan said: "He had his own mixing desk in his room and he'd done a few parties and a gig at the Arts Centre in York. It was his dream to do that professionally and he had the personality to succeed.

"He was a talented lad, fun-loving and he never had a bad word for anybody. His friends have been marvellous. Like us, they're devastated."

"When somebody has something for 20 years it's like getting up and having toast in the morning, you get used to it.

"He never complained and it didn't hold him back."

Dr John White, respiratory specialist at York District Hospital, said: "People shouldn't be alarmed because this is a very rare occurrence. The vast majority of asthmatics have nothing to worry about if they keep taking their medication."

Paul will be sadly missed by his mother, father Alan Suttle, sister Laura Suttle, girlfriend Adele and many others. His funeral takes place on Monday at 1pm at York Crematorium with donations going to asthma research.