Samuel Ellwood, a popular and helpful young man whose terminal illness never stopped him living life to the full, has died aged 25.

Like his slightly elder brother, James, Samuel was born with cystic fibrosis and attended Sandgate School, in Kendal. Despite being unable to attend school, often due to appointments at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Samuel was very popular with his fellow pupils and enjoyed organising and supervising people.

Even when in hospital, the entertainer', as he was nicknamed by his parents, Pauline and Maurice, was always talking to people, cheering up fellow patients and helping them out wherever he could.

Samuel enjoyed living life to its full potential and, whenever his health would allow him, he and his mother would travel all over the country enjoying various days out.

His main passion in life was motorbikes and his mother also recalled how happy he was when he and his brother's stolen motorbikes were returned to them within days following an appeal in The Westmorland Gazette.

Such was Samuel's reputation in his home village of Tebay, that the South Tebay Residents Association decided to place a memorial in the village gardens to commemorate his life.

"Samuel will be sadly missed by all of us but we have got many happy memories. He was struggling with pain but he kept on going and always had a smile on his face.

"He loved to help and, even when his illnesses prevented him from doing so, he was always looking for other ways in which he could," said Pauline.