THE heartbroken girlfriend of a York teenager who collapsed and died in front of his classmates has paid tribute to the boy she loved and dreamed of sharing a bright future with.

And for 14-year-old Helen Barnie the tragic death of her boyfriend Jamie Bucknell is a double blow, as it comes just weeks after her father John died suddenly from a heart condition at the age of 41.

Jamie's death has also been attributed to a heart condition.

But the brave youngster has fought back her grief to let everyone know just how much Jamie meant to her.

"I just feel heartbroken and I don't know what to think," she told the Evening Press.

"Jamie meant everything to me and I want everybody to know how much we loved each other and how much we meant to each other.

"I would spend every spare moment I had with him. I put him before all my friends and he put me before all of his.

"I can't imagine what it's going to be like without Jamie. He just kept me going."

The Huntington School pupils had known each other for three years and dated on and off for two of those after falling for each other at a school disco. In the last six months they had become inseparable and, although both were only aged 14, they were convinced theirs was a love that would last.

"He wanted to be a pilot and he said he wanted me to be with him when he was older," said Helen, who lives with her mum, Julie, in Huntington.

"There wasn't a day went by where I wouldn't see him or an hour go by where I wouldn't hear from him.

"I'll miss him so much. He would always come and meet me after every lesson. I used to walk him to his bus and he would give me a kiss. But he's not there to do that anymore."

When Jamie and Helen were apart they would constantly send each other text messages on their mobile phones.

Helen told how she had been in a neighbouring classroom when Jamie collapsed during an English lesson on Monday.

She said: "All of a sudden we knew something was wrong because the teachers were running about. I knew Jamie had collapsed once before and I was praying it wasn't him. When I found out it was him I just burst into tears."

But it wasn't until later that afternoon that she learned from the school's deputy head the devastating news that Jamie had died.

Mrs Barnie said: "It just seems so unfair that the two men she loved most in the world have been taken away from her. It shouldn't be like that when she's just 14. It's tragic.

She said Jamie, who lived in Brecks Lane, Strensall, had helped Helen to cope after her father died about eight weeks ago from a heart condition which had been diagnosed ten years earlier.

"He did support her an awful lot. Us adults often don't realise that kids need their peers to support them and Jamie was a real strength to Helen.

"He was a lovely lad. He was always happy and he always had a big grin on his face."

Jamie's funeral is due to be held next week, although a firm date has not yet been set.

Updated: 08:46 Thursday, November 15, 2001