By Douglas Walker
A YOUNG carer has collapsed and died just hours after enjoying a boozy stag night.
Tragic Ryan Robertson, 29, was found dead in his flat after friends and family were unable to contact him.
Relatives have described Ryan, who had cared full-time for his cancer-stricken dad, as a ‘good guy’.
Friends last saw him alive at a friend’s drunken stag party in Edinburgh before another pal spoke to him on the phone the following day.
When Ryan, from Edinburgh, then stopped answering his phone and replying to texts, concerned friends went round to his flat but there was no answer.
After kicking in his front door they made the grim discovery of his body. The exact cause of his death has yet to be determined.
Single Ryan used to split his time between Edinburgh and London, where his mother Isabel lives, before moving permanently to Scotland three years ago.
He then started caring for his terminally ill dad, Jimmy, before he died from cancer. Following his death he took on the duties of looking after his frail grandfather James.
Cousin Jill Rennie, 25 from Edinburgh, revealed Ryan was born with a heart defect which may have contributed to his sudden death.
She said: “He just loved the family unit and was always looking out for relatives. He cared for them a lot and hated when people fell out.
“We are waiting to hear the exact cause of death, but he was born with a heart condition and had bad asthma as a child.”
Ryan was a big football fan – supporting Hibs – and was also a keen car enthusiast owning a sporty Peugeot 206.
A close friend, Lyn Stevenson, who now lives in Germany, said she was devastated to hear of Ryan’s unexpected death.
She said: “It’s still a big shock, even now, he had just turned 29. He was a good guy and he was always asking how my brother and family were getting on.
“He coped a lot better (with his dad’s illness and subsequent death) than most people would have, and I couldn’t admire a person more for that.”
Ryan’s funeral will take place at Seafield Crematorium, Edinburgh at 3pm tomorrow (Friday 27th June).
Police confirmed his body was discovered on June 16 and there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
