'I lost my son and got a new son... now I've lost him again'

A mum has told of her heartbreak at the sudden death of her son. Rhys Priestley died on Monday at his home in Scholes, Wigan. The 21-year-old, who had severe disabilities following a bleed on the brain as a child, was discovered by his mum and full-time carer Adele Brown in his bed at around 6.30am.

Adele said Rhys was a 'normal, happy child' when 'out of the blue' he collapsed with a bleed on the brain aged five. He spent three weeks in intensive care and nine months in hospital as he underwent several operations.

But the haemorrhage left him with severe disabilities and complex needs. He was unable to walk, talk or feed himself and required round-the-clock care.

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Adele said: "It feels like I lost Rhys and got a new Rhys and now it feels like I've lost him again. I've lost him twice." Rhys had recently suffered a bout of pneumonia, but Adele said he had seemed to recover well.

But went she went to switch his feeding machine off on Monday morning, tragically he had died in night. She added: "I think his body had just had enough. It's just absolutely devastating. I feel numb. He was absolutely wonderful.

"He had a wicked sense of humour. If somebody trumped, he would laugh his head off. He loved Mrs Brown's Boys and Mr Bean. And he loved music and Christmas - we used to have to play Christmas songs in June.

"Even though he couldn't talk, his eyes told you how he was feeling. He lit up the room and he touched so many hearts." A fundraiser has been set up by Adele's cousin Clare Jarvis to help the family with funeral costs. Clare wrote: "Rhys has had a very challenging life but he overcame and