'Popular' man, 22, dies suddenly as family and friends issue heart-wrenching tribute

Lew Robertson, 22, took his ain beingness connected September 14, aft struggling for the bulk of his childhood. His heartbroken household and friends person present paid tribute to him

A 22-year-old antheral who was "popular" with everyone who knew him died abruptly past month, leaving his household and friends heartbroken.

Lew Robertson, from Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, tragically took his ain life connected September 14, leaving down his mum and dad, Lorraine and Donald, woman Camilla, and adjacent friends, Lewis Watt, Alex Leslie and Christopher Jackson. His family, who described him arsenic a loving son, friend, relative and boyfriend, said helium struggled for the bulk of his childhood.

The young man's passing came arsenic a daze to his household and friends and they person travel unneurotic to wage tribute to Lew who "left a people connected everyone helium knew". They are besides present urging others to talk up astir their struggles.

Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Lew's champion person Lewis Watt said: "He ever had a grin connected his look and was specified a radical pleaser and that's wherefore everyone is truthful shocked by this. He had cerebral palsy increasing up and struggled to acceptable successful but helium was a talker and truthful fashionable with everyone who knew him. He was conscionable ever determination for radical if they were struggling and would spell retired of his mode to marque definite everyone is okay.

"Lew was a troubled feline astatine times but this was decidedly a daze due to the fact that helium was doing truthful well. Even if thing was going connected successful the inheritance with him, helium would inactive beryllium laughing and smiling."

Lewis and Lew became friends successful 2017 and person been inseparable ever since. Lewis added: "We weren't frightened to enactment each different successful their place, determination was nary fake-ness, we were similar feline and dog, but helium was the champion feline I could person arsenic my champion friend." Lew's household and friends person acceptable up a fundraiser to assistance rise consciousness astir men's intelligence wellness and termination and are hoping to organise memorial benches arsenic a "safe space" for radical to cod their thoughts oregon person the accidental to speech to someone.

Lew was known for his operation "skipping implicit the water similar a stone" which his parents described arsenic meaning helium was getting by and doing fine. Lew's dad, Donald Robertson, said: "A batch of radical endure with their intelligence wellness and don't cognize wherever to spell for help. Families are straight impacted by it present and we conscionable privation radical to cognize determination is simply a abstraction they tin spell to speech to someone.

"A batch of the time, those defeated are the radical you would slightest expect. Wester Inch is simply a large assemblage successful Bathgate and radical don't travel unneurotic and this is thing we privation to physique on. We conscionable privation to promote others to accidental hullo to idiosyncratic if they are sitting connected their own, inquire them however they are.

"We are each coping day-by-day by talking and coming together. Lew spoke to everybody, helium wasn't shy and was ever helping others truthful we are each sticking unneurotic close now." At the clip of writing, astir £2,000 has been donated to the fundraiser. You tin donate here.

For affectional enactment you tin telephone the Samaritans 24-hour helpline connected 116 123, email [email protected], sojourn a Samaritans subdivision successful idiosyncratic oregon spell to the Samaritans website.