A YORK man with a "heart of gold" has died after falling down stairs at a neighbour's house.

Relatives today paid loving tributes to John Hunt, 60, who suffered what proved to be fatal injuries after the accident.

Stunned neighbours who live in the council house where Mr Hunt fell spoke for the first time about the night he died.

Mr Hunt's son, Sean, said today his father - whose houseboat was for a dozen years a familiar sight on the Ouse in York city centre - was "proud of York".

Sean said his music-loving father became depressed when, after a long battle, his boat, Waterlily, was evicted from its moorings near Skeldergate.

Sean, 36, a property manager in London, said: "My dad was liked by a lot of people and was very popular because of the boat situation. He was a very kind and loving person.

"He got a council flat about four months ago, but he didn't want to go because he felt he was letting go of a dream.

"But over the last three weeks he was getting himself back on track and he was so happy when my daughter, Georgia, was born.

"He was happier with life and getting himself sorted out."

In the floods of November, 2000, Mr Hunt refused to leave his boat. "Hundreds of people were being evacuated, but he refused to leave the river," recalled Sean. "He was stranded but he wasn't going to let the floods beat him."

Late last year, Mr Hunt was relocated to Horsman Avenue after City of York Council forced him to move the 50-ton Waterlily from its mooring.

York County Court issued the council with a possession order after complaints from nearby residents.

As tributes poured in for Mr Hunt, who died on Sunday, neighbours spoke about Wednesday night's fall.

Mr Hunt, a postman, visited neighbour Paul Darch and lodger Colin Smith in the flat above his on the night he died.

Mr Smith held Mr Hunt in his arms as he lay at the bottom of the stairs at the Horsman Avenue flat.

Mr Smith, 43, said: "I was trying to talk to him, but he was not breathing. It was a frightening experience."

Recalling his friend's last moments, Mr Darch, 45, said: "He came round to check how one of my dogs was because it had just had an operation.

"I made him a cup of black tea, the way he liked it, but when John got up he fell in the front room and knocked some plants over.

"After that Colin tried to help him down the stairs but he was having none of it."

They said Mr Hunt only made it half-way down before falling. The neighbours noticed serious head injuries and called an ambulance.

Mr Darch, who helped Mr Hunt with odd jobs, said: "I had a lot of respect for John. He was a loving, good-hearted man - he didn't deserve this."

Mr Smith said: "John never hurt a fly and had a heart of gold."

Mr Hunt leaves two sons, two sisters, two grandchildren and his mother, Francis, 95.

Updated: 10:34 Tuesday, April 13, 2004