TRIBUTES were paid last night to a “loveable” 46-year-old who collapsed and died during a charity cycle ride.

TRIBUTES were paid last night to a “loveable” 46-year-old who collapsed and died during a charity cycle ride.

Christopher Frost seemed well when he paused at the Greyhound public house in Chevington to speak with friends at the halfway point of their 25-mile ride last Sunday.

Moments later he fell from his bike on Hargrave Road in Chevington. Despite the desperate efforts of fellow riders and paramedics, he died at the scene of a heart attack.

The Bury St Edmunds electrician had been raising money for St Nicholas Hospice and the West Suffolk Hospital baby unit in Bury.

Friends paid tribute last night to warm, kind and popular Manchester United fanatic who regularly took part in the annual fundraiser organised by regulars from the Glad Abbott pub in Bury.

Mark Baldwin, a lifelong friend who was in the riders' support vehicle behind unmarried Mr Frost, said the pub's regulars were devastated.

“He was such a lovable bloke,” said Mr Baldwin. “He took part in the charity ride every year.

“We had just been speaking in the pub and he seemed fine. He was going up the hill and then he just flopped down - it was like he had just been shot.

“We couldn't get him to breath - we did everything we could with CPR and the paramedics were fantastic but they couldn't revive him.

“It wasn't as if we were racing. It was a leisurely ride to raise money for charity. He had all his friends around him - at least he was not on his own.”

Mr Frost's sister Teresa Fenner said the family were still coming to terms with what had happened.

“We are devastated - it just doesn't seem real,” she said. “He was a wonderful brother, son and uncle. He was a lovely chap - a private and a very giving person.”

Frances McCormack, landlady at the Glad Abbott on Glastonbury Road, was preparing to celebrate the £1,500 raised during the ride as events unfurled.

“He was absolutely lovely - he didn't have a bad bone in his body,” she said. “He was a big, big Manchester United supporter. He came here to watch the matches and he was really opinionated but he wouldn't harm a fly.”

Mrs McCormack said the pub would also be holding a fundraising event for the British Heart Foundation.