Aaron Wood, who died from a viral infection whilst on holiday in France.; “An inquest concluded that the youngster died from natural causes�.

A HEARTBROKEN father has paid tribute to his “cheeky and very loving” eight-year-old son who died unexpectedly on holiday.

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Aaron Wood was in France with his mum, Carly, when he lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

The youngster, who lived in Wherstead, near Ipswich, was rushed to hospital in Calvados but died shortly after he arrived.

Chelmsford Coroner’s Court heard yesterday that a post mortem, carried out back in the UK, showed Aaron died from a viral infection during his holiday to visit his granddad John Carrington.

Members of Aaron’s family wept as the inquest heard details of what had happened and speaking afterwards, his dad, Scott Wood, paid tribute to his son who was a pupil at Dale Hall Primary School in Ipswich.

Mr Wood, who lives in Colchester, told the EADT: “He was on the go constantly and was a cheeky lad.

“He was good looking, like his dad, and was very inquisitive and he was very loving.

“Aaron was constantly wanting to learn – he was a pleasure to be around.”

Mr Wood, 37, said the family was still struggling to come to term with Aaron’s death on December 29, 2008.

“It came totally out of the blue, there was no sign that anything like this was going to happen whatsoever.

“We are slowly trying to move on but that takes time of course and some of us are dealing with it better than others but there is nothing right or wrong in that, ” he said.

Aaron’s family asked for donations at his funeral and with the funds his former school has now planted a horse chestnut tree in his memory with a bench around it as well as built a play area for the pupils.

Mr Wood, who works as a mechanic, thanked the school for all their care and said they had held a special memorial assembly for his boy.

He said: “The school was very, very supportive through the bad times and I would like to say how grateful the family are to them.

“There is now a constant link there now with Aaron because of the conker tree in the gardens and the climbing apparatus so he will be constantly remembered.”

Aaron was on medication for attention deficit disorder but Mr Wood said his son had just been a normal, happy young lad.

“It was a case more of adjusting really – there was nothing wrong with Aaron, he was slightly hyper active but that did not take anything away from his character.”

And Aaron’s uncle, Sid Brand, of Danbury, near Chelmsford, added: “He was very interested in everything. He liked everything mechanical – he loved taking things apart and putting them back together.

“They held a very nice service for him at the school.”

A post mortem carried out at Cambridge’s Addenbrooke’s Hospital revealed the cause of death to be myocarditus, caused by Parvovirus B19 infection.

Essex Assistant Deputy Coroner Lorna Tagliavini recorded a verdict of natural causes.