A shipyard employee died after suffering a heart attack while at work.

Tributes have been paid to much-loved dad-of-two Phil Doughty, who was working a shift as a forklift driver at BAE when tragedy struck.

The 57-year-old, who had worked at the yard for eight years, died when he arrived at Furness General Hospital.

Mr Doughty leaves behind his sons Kyle and Corey and their mum Karen.

His mother-in-law, Lilian Freeman, said his absence would ‘leave a massive hole’ in all their lives.

She said: “Phil was a happy person who had a lot of friends.

“He was a keen angler and always loved to fish.

“His mum and dad used to own a cottage on Piel Island and he used to visit there a lot as a child, and later took his family there camping.

“He was a great dad - he loved to take Corey fishing and often watched films with Kyle on South End.

“He loved going to the pub on South End and going fishing with his friends.

“He had lots of holidays abroad with his family - he was so well loved.

“He met our daughter Karen when she was a teenager after we moved to the area.

“Although they separated, he was still very much a part of the family - he will always be our son-in-law.

“He still spent the odd holiday and Christmas dinner with us. He was a massive part of our lives.”

Mrs Freeman said her son-in-law was ‘unaware’ of any heart issues, describing his death as a ‘horrendous shock’.

She said: “He wasn’t aware he had any issues with his heart.

“It was a horrendous shock, it still hasn’t really sunk in.

“He kept complaining of acid reflux but we found out he was suffering from heart disease.

“It’s a real shame because of Covid restrictions that more people can’t come to the funeral because he was so well loved.

“He’ll leave a massive hole in all our lives.

Mrs Freeman said the family had been inundated with kind messages of support.

“We’ve had so many kind and lovely messages,” she said.

“The kids have had so many private messages off their dad’s friends and work colleagues.

“They’ve been really surprised by how many words of support they’ve received.

“His youngest son works in the yard and they’ve been really brilliant with him.”

In commemoration of Mr Doughty’s life, Mrs Freeman has launched a fundraising page for the British Heart Foundation.

She said: “With only having a small funeral, we wanted to set up a GoFundMe page and put all the proceeds towards the British Heart Foundation.

“I’m really surprised by how much we’ve managed to raise in such a short amount of time.

“If people could donate anything they can, it would mean a lot.”

If you would like to make a donation, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/phildoughty.