A PROMISING young photographer died from a heart attack at the age of 25.

Family of Gareth Bevan, of Risca Road, Crosskeys, paid tribute to him after he was found in his bedroom by his mum, Cath Bevan.

Mr Bevan had recently graduated and was looking forward to developing a career as a medical illustrator when he was found on the morning of December 16.

He went to bed as normal the night before and suffered no symptoms leading up to his death.

Mr Bevan, who was described as a "generous, big-hearted, kind and considerate" man by his parents Mrs Bevan and Robert Bevan, was looking forward to progressing in his career after graduating in media production from the University of Glamorgan in the summer.

He had applied to study a medical illustration course at places across the country.

Speaking about his studying, Mrs Bevan said: "He blossomed with that. He just loved it."

Mr Bevan had a love of photography, taking pictures on a range of themes, including people and landscapes, and also took pictures at the graduation of his sister Angharad, 22.

His father Mr Bevan said: "He had a fantastic eye for photography. He had a real talent for it. He would have made a promising photographer."

Photography took up most of Mr Bevan’s time but he also enjoyed watching films and was a big fan of rugby. He was well-known for his different hair colours, which in the past had included pink, yellow, green and blue.

Mr Bevan said: "The neighbours and his friends used to guess what colour his hair would be each day."

Mrs Bevan said: "He was very colourful, happy and very helpful. He was very well thought of. The biggest compliment I’ve had is people saying they would have been quite happy to have him as a son."

A service for Mr Bevan will take place on Thursday at Gwent Crematorium at 3pm. The family have asked for family flowers only and for any donations to be made to the photography department at the University of Glamorgan.