Matthew Hughes' family could wait two weeks, six months or even a year but they might never know why the fun-loving 17-yeaqr-old died. 

The A-grade student, who loved squash and skiing was found dead at his home by his older sister Georgina, leaving his family devastated. 

They have been told the seemingly-healthy Cardiff High School pupil might have suffered from undetected heart problems, but his death remains a mystery. 

Today, his father Paul, 47, who suffers from a rare heart condition said: "There's no bitterness.  I don't think that would do us any good.

"I feel angry at what's happened but nobody is to blame.  We just want parents to be aware because we wouldn't want anybody else to go through the same thing."

Mum Fay, 48, said: "As a parent you always feel guilty that you could've done something, but there probably wasn't anything we could have done." 

The Easter weekend started as usual for the family. 

Georgina, 19, and her brother spent all day on Satu5rday making Easter eggs for their cousins and friends from melted chocolate bars. 

Later, computer whiz-kid Matthew conjured up a collage of photos of a February half-term ski trip to Champagny in France, and for fun, superimposed photos of his family and friends onto pictures of the Pyramids, the Statue of Liberty, Hollywood and the moon.

It made everyone laugh and was typical of the bright teenager and his off-beat sense of humour.  On Easter Sunday, Matthew and his mum stayed up late to watch Lost and 24, as usual.

"He just said 'goodnight mum' and went to bed as normal." she said.

The next morning she went to work at the University Hospital at Wales near the family  home in St Ina Road, Heath, Cardiff, while Paul, a teacher at Whitchurch High School, headed for the gym. 

At about 11.30am Georgina got up and thought it was odd her brother hadn't yet risen. 

I went into his room just to check why he wasn't up.  When he didn't answer my calls I was shouting at him" said the Swansea University student. 

"I thought he was messing around but when I touched him he was cold.  I knew straightaway he had gone, but I still did CPR."

Shocked and numb Georgina called paramedics but when they arrived they only confirmed that she already knew.  As Georgina coped with the devastating news alone her parents remained unaware of the tragedy. 

Paul said: "They put my name over the tannoy at the gym, but I didn't hear it at first because I had my headphones on. 

"Then it clicked someone was calling my name.  I went to the front desk and they told me there were a couple of police downstairs. 

"I panicked.  I just thought 'why6 would the police come and see me here, please don't let it be one of my kids.'

"They wouldn't tell me anything until they had taken me into a side office.  When they did my first thought was that Georgina was in the house by herself."

Fay was contacted at work by her mother, Frances, 75, who lives next door, and said she knew as soon as she was told: "We can't wake Matthew up."

Paul was rushed to his home in a p9olice car but because the house had been made a scene of crime, he wasn't allowed inside. 

The family had an agonising four-hour wait while forensics worked in the house and officers stood outside the front door and in the garden.

Paul said: "They just kept asking if he had been ill and how he'd been in the last few days. We were allowed to sit with him after but a police officer had to stand at the door. 

"It was all a blur.  We were all so numb." 

Matthew's body was taken to the University Hospital of Wales, but despite a post mortem, doctors are still unsure why he died. 

One theory is that he may have suffered from a heart condition like his dad, who has Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause heart palpitations. 

"We just don't know what happened," said Paul. 

"It could be six months or a year until we find out or we might never know.  All we've been told is that they have seen cases like this before and they've never found out what happened."

Paul, who has had heart surgery and takes medication for his condition, added "I had my heart problem at school but I never told anyone.  My heart would go like a machine gun some days. 

"What I had was similar to what may have caused this but Matthew and Georgina both had tests when they were seven and nine and nothing was found. 

"It was about the time Terry Yorath's son died of a heart attack so we just thought we were the lucky ones and that we didn't have to worry about that any more." 

Matthew's family paid tribute to him as a fun-loving but thoughtful teenager who loved being around people, and especially enjoyed family get-togethers and holidays. 

Georgina said: "He was my best friend.  We could spend hours and hours together. 

"We could be just the two of us together for a week but we'd always find something fun to do together."

Pau7l said: "He was incredibly thoughtful.  He would come up with fun things all the time and surprise you.  I've never known a 17-year-old boy like him for Christmas presents - he put so much thought into everything. 

"He was incredibly funny.  You had to get to know him to understand his sense of humour but people who knew him loved him for it." 

There will be an inquest into Matthew's death later this year. 

His family and a bus-load of his school friends are expected to attend his humanist funeral at 10.320am on Monday at Thornhill Crematorium. 

During the service his dad and a former teacher will pay tribute to him and some of his favourite songs will be play7ed, including "I'll be There For You," the theme-tune to Friends.

His family are asking that any donations be made to CRY - a charity which raises awareness of Sudden Adult Death syndrome>