FRIENDS have paid tribute to a 22-year-old man who was the ‘life of the party’ after he died suddenly on Sunday.

Perry Greenhalgh struggled with his mental health but always made sure those around him were happy.

Tributes to him have appeared outside his flat in Farnworth.

He was involved with the community interest company Be the Best, which offers a range of activities to those aged 11-25.

Daniel Sukula who runs Be the Best supported Perry during the pandemic and regularly delivered food parcels to him.

He first met Perry a couple of years ago when working for the youth homelessness charity Back Up.

Daniel said: “It came as a huge shock, I’d be delivering food to him recently and he was always laughing and chatting.

“He was looking forward to getting involved with some of the activities when things open up again.

“It was heart-breaking when I found out. He was such a good lad.

“He didn’t have it easy but he had a good heart.

Tributes to Perry Greenhalgh outside of his flat

Tributes to Perry Greenhalgh outside of his flat

“A lot of young people are in similar situations battling mental health. For young males in particular it’s something which they don’t talk about and I think this was the problem he had.

“His friends have been in touch and they want to organise a fundraiser to pay for his funeral costs.

“When restrictions ease further I want to organise activities promoting mental health because it is such a big problem.

“For a young person to do this – it shows that they are battling serious demons.

“We need to normalise these discussions and remove the stigma attached to mental health.”

Perry Greenhalgh with his girlfriend Danielle Collier

Perry Greenhalgh with his girlfriend Danielle Collier

Perry’s girlfriend Danielle Collier said: “He was so loving and caring. He didn’t care what others thought of him and he was so funny.

“He used to call me baby girl and I just wish I could hear him say that one more time.

"He lived with me for the last four months, last year we lost a baby together so we've been through a lot.

“He was always so bubbly and you wouldn’t have thought there was anything wrong with him.

“More needs to be done about men’s mental health, we need to speak out about our problems until it’s too late.

“It’s heart-breaking. I love him so much and I’ve promised to look after his dog Nella for him.”

Tributes to Perry Greenhalgh outside of his flat

Tributes to Perry Greenhalgh outside of his flat

One of Perry’s friends, Byron Gregory, paid tribute to him.

He said: “It’s a big loss, it was very sudden and out of the blue.

“I know how hard it can be with coping with mental health, but it’s so sad he’s gone.

“He was happy all of the time, he was the life of the party. He used to make sure everyone was ok even if he wasn’t.

“It’s made me realise how important it is that we talking about mental health, it’s shown me that life is too short to hiding stuff like that.”