A BOLTON family has been left devastated after a young man was found dead in his bed.

Christopher Brooks, aged 31, was found dead by his sister Donna Burgess at their home in Briscoe Mews, Burnden.

The cause of death is unknown and an inquest will be held in May to find out why he died.

Mr Brooks had been living with Mrs Burgess and her children Adrian and Ashley, both aged 16, and Destiny, aged five, for four months.

Mrs Burgess, aged 35, said: "I'm devastated. We were very close, like best friends. He was so young and it is sad that his life has been cut short.

"We would go out together and he was close to my children when they were younger and helped to bring them up."

Mrs Burgess made the discovery on Friday, December 22, and paramedics were called to the house.

She added: "When I went into the room and saw Chris, I knew something was wrong. I called 999 and they told me what to do before the paramedics arrived, but I knew he was dead."

Mr Brooks was a landscape gardener at Heaton Cemetery and a Bolton Wanderers fan.

His father, Norman, lost contact with his son 10 years ago, but they bumped into each other at a bookies 18 months ago.

Mr Brooks said: "When I bumped into Chris, we chatted for hours and kept in touch afterwards. We were given a second chance to get to know each other, and now I'm devastated that he has died."