A "wonderful" dad-of-two died in his sleep from a massive heart attack, aged just 32.

Successful dog breeder Nigel Greenwood, pictured, died just hours after returning from a relaxing family holiday.

Today his widow Claire, 29, told of her sadness at the loss of the husband she described as her "best friend".

And Claire said: "I just want everyone to know how much we cared for one another.

"He would write me love letters every single day. He told me that all of his life he had wanted to meet someone who shared the same interests as him. We were just so happy together," she said. "All of our friends envied the strength of our relationship.

"Nigel was an absolute diamond - one of those people who would do anything for anybody. We weren't well off but he would lend money to people anyway."

Health experts today said it was "very unusual" for someone so young to suffer such a heart attack. He had shown no symptoms of heart problems in the past.

"It is so rare at that age that we do not even have any statistics," said a spokesman for the British Heart Foundation. "It appears that this has been a genuine one-off."

Today his family were still trying to come to terms with their loss.

Eileen Greenwood said her son had been "a wonderful father" to the couple's two children - Sam, five, and Chloe, two.

"He was a caring and generous man who lived his life for his dogs," she said.

Nigel travelled across the country with his wife showing his treasured German Wire Haired Pointers at dog shows. Just days before his death, the family had been celebrating success at the Paignton Dog Show in Devon, where one of his German Wire Haired Pointers had picked up an award. Another of his dogs had won guaranteed qualification for life at Crufts.

"He was beaming from ear to ear," said Claire. "He couldn't believe that we had done it. We were so happy, and then this came along so suddenly."

Tributes have been paid to Nigel, who lived in Southfield Lane, Great Horton, from as far afield as Sweden and Australia. He met hundreds of new friends from across the world through his love of dogs.

Nigel worked as a financial secretary for social services in Chapel Lane, Bradford, but also helped his father who runs Greenwood's Bakery on Southfield Lane, a family business for more than 50 years.

Nigel's sister Andrea, 30, recalled how her brother had always been the life and soul of a party - and a generous man.

"He would always come up with money making schemes and other big ideas, but at the end of the day he always ended up giving the money away to other people," she said.

"Nigel was a warm and kind hearted man who would always have a lot of fun."

A remembrance service will be held tomorrow at 12.15pm before he is buried at North Bierley.

The family requested there should be no black clothing at the funeral and donations may be given to the German Wire Haired Pointers Rescue fund.

e-mail: andrew.hebden@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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