EXCLUSIVEBy Patrick LowmanWORKERS at an East Anglian car dealership are in mourning after a popular and highly-regarded colleague collapsed and died while at work.

EXCLUSIVE

By Patrick Lowman

WORKERS at an East Anglian car dealership are in mourning after a popular and highly-regarded colleague collapsed and died while at work.

Tributes have been paid to Adrian Price, 36, a senior technician at the Cecil and Larter Volvo dealership in Bury St Edmunds, who collapsed and died shortly after arriving at work on Saturday morning.

The father of a three-month-old daughter had just been handed some paperwork when he suddenly collapsed at the Mildenhall Road premises and fell to the floor.

Paramedics were called and an ambulance arrived within seven minutes. Mr Price was taken to the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, but he was pronounced dead.

An ambulance was called to the premises at about 8.10am and a Suffolk Police spokesman confirmed Mr Price had been pronounced dead at the hospital at 9.01am. He added the incident was being investigated as a sudden death, but that there where no suspicious circumstances.

Mr Price lived in Horringer Road, Bury St Edmunds, with his wife Laura and their daughter, who was born in November.

He had been working at the firm for the past three years and Peter Duffield, a director with Cecil and Larter, paid tribute last night to Mr Price.

"Adrian was one of our senior technicians and he was a loyal and valued member of staff. Everybody here is absolutely devastated and all our thoughts are with his family," he said.

"He had just got into work when someone handed him some paperwork and he just collapsed. The paramedics came, but they couldn't save him."

Mr Duffield added: "It has been such a shock because he hadn't been feeling unwell and there is no history of sickness.

"His colleagues are devastated he was a very popular person and a very good chap. It is just such a shame for his young family and we are thinking of them at this time."

The dealership was shut after Mr Price's death and a note on the door read "closed due to a bereavement" with an apology to customers. Flags at the premises were also flown at half-mast as a mark of respect.

Mr Price's wife was not available for comment last night.

patrick.lowman@eadt.co.uk