A DEVASTATED father has told of his heartbreak following the death of his "fantastic son" - who had everything to look forward to before he fell to his death down a lift shaft.

Craig Jones died after falling five floors down the shaft in Marsden House in Bolton town centre on Saturday.

He and a friend were trapped in the broken-down lift between the fourth and fifth floors, and it is thought they prised the doors open when nothing happened after they sounded the alarm.

Craig’s father Bernard, who lives in Halliwell, paid tribute to his 27-year-old son, who also worked with him as a partner in their plastering business.

Mr Jones, aged 45, said: “He was a wonderful guy and a fantastic son.

“You can tell from what people have written on Facebook what people thought of him.

“He never got into trouble. It is just so tragic. All of his family are just devastated.”

Craig, nicknamed Pugsley, was a regular at The Blue Boar in Deansgate, and was the eldest of four siblings.

He had worked with his father as a plasterer since just after leaving school.

Mr Jones added: “He had two sisters and a brother and he doted on them.

“Everybody loved him, even at work. He was absolutely fantastic - he could not do enough for me.

“He had everything to look forward to and now it has gone. That just makes it even worse.”

The emergency services were called to the flats at 4.50pm on Saturday, and Craig was rushed to Salford Royal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about five hours later.

Police say there are no suspicious circumstances and have passed the matter to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Residents have also described how Craig’s friend had been sitting “in shock” on steps as emergency services arrived at the building.

Jonathan Lomas, who lives in the block of flats in Marsden Road, said: “I saw all the police cars and ambulances outside the building.

“Then I saw his friend who had been with him. He was just sitting at the top of the steps in shock.

“It’s a horrible thing to have happened.”

Arrangements are being put in place for Mr Jones’ funeral, but the family are waiting for his body to be released, with a post-mortem examination understood to have taken place yesterday.

His father added: “Everywhere Craig went he made friends. The amount of people who will be at his funeral will be crazy.

“We are going to have to have a church as Overdale will be too small.”

The lift in Craig’s block at Marsden House is still sealed off as the HSE continues its investigation.

The lifts at Marsden House are managed by Arc Elevators, who did not respond to requests for a comment.

A resident, who asked not to be named, said: “The lifts are usually fine. I’ve been here for more than a year and not noticed a problem.

“There was some maintenance a few months ago but other than that they have been okay.”

An HSE spokesman said: “We are continuing to make inquiries into the incident.”

A police spokesman added: “As there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident, our remaining involvement is to make inquiries on behalf of the coroner for the inquest.”