Woman's devastation after waking up to find loving partner, 30, had died next to her

A heartbroken mum has spoken of the moment she awoke to find her partner dead in bed by her side.

Damien Jones, 30, was a seemingly fit and healthy young father but was discovered dead by his partner, Amelia Townson, last May. Nine months on, Amelia has now learned that Damien died from undiagnosed heart disease.

The couple’s two young children now sleep with her because they fear that she too will pass away in the night, like their father. Amelia, 29, said his death was devastating for all the family.

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“We waited nine months to find out why Damien died. It’s a huge shock. He seemed so fit and healthy and was always in the gym. His final words to me, the night before he passed, were: ‘I love you.’

"We’d watched a film in bed with the kids, so we had a lovely evening, all together. That is such a comfort to me.

“Since his death the kids insist on sleeping with me because they worry that they might lose me during the night, as they lost their dad. My son is only six yet he feels a responsibility to protect me and it breaks my heart."

Damien and Amelia, from Wrexham, North Wales, had been together for nine years. They were desperate for a baby but suffered eight miscarriages and in June 2014, they lost a daughter, Ava-May, to stillbirth.

Amelia said: “We were devastated by each miscarriage and Damien took it very badly. The loss of our daughter was especially tough. Damien suffered with epilepsy but he used exercise and sport to help him, and he coped well.”

The couple had almost given up hope of having their own family when their son, David, now five, was born in May 2015, followed by a daughter, Esme-Rose, now four.