The family of a super-fit student who died suddenly a year ago have raised thousands of pounds for charity in his memory. 

Known as the Gentle Giant, Jimmy Wilson, 24, died in his sleep at the family home in Sulgrave, Washington, on January 2 last year. 

The 6ft 6in computer buff, in his first year of a degree at Northumbria University, was a keen cyclist who biked up to 50 miles a day and spent his spare time at the gym.  But his family discovered that he may have suffered from a rare heart condition, which cut his life short. 

Family, friends and neighbours in Helmondon, Sulgrave, have been raising funds and awareness for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), which wants the Government to introduce a heart-screening programme for children and teenagers. 

So far they have raised more than £3,000 through activities which included a sponsored walk and a social night at a local club. 

Jimmy’s mum Ann, 50, has also been baking Christmas cakes, raising several hundred pounds – not only for CRY, but also to buy an electrocardiograph machine for the Victoria Road Health Centre in Concord, where Jimmy’s doctor is based. 

The cakes will be on sale at the MetroCentre this weekend, and tickets can now be purchased for the family’s next charity event at the Albany Sports and Social Club in Washington on Friday, February 4.

Tickets, available at the club in Albany village centre, cost £3.  Entertainment will be provided by a local group, Male Order, whose line-up includes Steven James, a friend of Jimmy’s. 

Ann said it had been a terrible Christmas without Jimmy and they had remembered him with flowers on the anniversary of his death. 

She said: “It has been a terrible loss.  Part of me died that morning when I went to wake him and found him dead, and the heart-breaking sight of his dad trying to resuscitate him.” 

Jimmy was diagnosed with diabetes after he suffered a viral infection aged 13 and had to inject himself with insulin five times a day. 

His dad, also called Jimmy, 48, a team leader at Nissan, said: “Jimmy was very active.  He would out and about all the time and wouldn’t think twice about cycling up to 50 miles a day. 

“He was diabetic, but he was very fit.  He watched what he ate and he didn’t really drink.  He really controlled his diabetes through exercise. 

“He was full of fun and always around someone’s house helping them out.  He had time for everyone.”