Tragedy as dad dies on Christmas Day - three days before he was due to get married

A dad who died on Christmas Day while holidaying in Australia was due to marry his partner just days later.

Jeff Walker, 57, and his fiancé Donna Jones, 50, were on a "holiday of a lifetime" when he fell ill and collapsed on a flight. The couple got engaged six years ago and were due to tie the knot in 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to their plans.

They jetted out to Australia from Manchester Airport in late December. However, during a flight from Dubai to Perth on December 22, Jeff, from Blackpool, fell ill and collapsed outside the plane's toilets.

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After landing, he was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, LancsLive reports.

He died on Christmas Day. Now, Donna says she has been stranded in Australia after Emirates Airlines dialled back on a promise to switch their flights home to Blackpool. As Jeff's son Conner lives in the country, the family held a cremation and funeral in Perth following his death.

It meant they were unable to make their original return trip from Sydney in time.

Still in Australia, Donna told LancsLive: "We got the flight at 1.30am, the day before he was swimming on the 42nd floor in an infinity pool, we went on a desert safari. He was eating and drinking normally, he was just tired. Obviously, with the time differences we were all tired so none of us really thought anything of it."

She added: "We were supposed to come three years ago to see his [Jeff's] son, but obviously Covid stopped that from happening. His son came home last Christmas, so we decided we were going to go out this Christmas. We just decided in the summer, that's it, we're going to get