A heartbroken family is appealing to help bring home the body of their "amazing, selfless" son after he drowned trying to rescue his dog from a river in Spain.
Paul Lebihan, 25, tragically passed away on Monday after saving his pet from the current, but then getting into trouble himself in the Bolulla River, near Benidorm.
Now his family, from Gateshead, have launched a fundraising effort to bring his body back home and give him the send off he deserves, Chronicle Live reports.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Paul's cousin, Kallym Bell, in support of his devastated parents, Deborah and Paul Snr.
The page raised an incredible £7,000 in less than 24 hours of being live, with hundreds of people leaving heartfelt tribute to 'one of nicest men you could ever meet'.
Keen amateur boxer Paul was well known by many people across the Leam Lane Estate, and beloved by colleagues from the several years he spent working in the navy.
Kallym, 19, called Paul: "[A]n amazing, selfless man with a heart of gold, always the biggest laugh and the very best to be around."
He added: "He loved being around people, he was very sociable. He loved his boxing, he was a talented boxer, and he loved going out with his friends. He was a very popular kid, very loved."
Questions still remain for the family around the exact circumstances of Paul's death, and his mother Deborah has now flown out to Spain to collect her son's body - but faces hefty costs to fly him home.
Kallym thanked everyone who had contributed to the fundraiser to support the devastated parents and said that any donation, however small, was 'appreciated' and would help bring the much-loved young man home.
He added: "It still hasn't really sunk in, I can't even believe it. We just want him back: he was always on this estate, there's a massive family of us living here and we all grew up around here together and all the family who've died are buried around here. Our family has been in Leam Lane since the estate was built and we want to bring Paul back.
"There's obviously the cost of transporting him back and then the funeral as well. Paul deserves a good funeral, he did a lot for other people and people's donations show that he was very loved.
"He was very selfless - saving the dog shows that. He would do anything for anyone, it's the same with his time in the Navy, it shows how he was willing to put himself before others."
Donations can be made to help bring Paul home at https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-remembrance-of-paul-lebihan
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