Tributes have poured in for a man who died after falling 50ft from a tree in Great Harwood.

Dennis Slater, 31, from Rishton, fell from the tree while camping with friends in an area known as The Pines, off Blackburn Old Road, on Saturday May 22.

He was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital by police helicopter but was pronounced dead on arrival.

His father, Ken Slater, of Walmsley Avenue, Rishton, said: "He wasn’t just my son, he was my best mate. Me and his mother Valerie will sorely miss him."

Police were contacted by the ambulance service at around 5.30am.

A police spokesman said: "Early indications are that the man was with a large group of people who were camping in the area and the man had climbed a tree and fallen approximately 50 feet.

"It appears to be a tragic accident and is not being treated as suspicious."

Rishton resident Sam Grundy, 27, was one of Dennis’s closest friends.

He said: "He’d had the time of his life over he last few months and we’d never seen him so happy. He’d really found his feet and he was back at university. Dennis will be greatly missed. We’ll never be able to replace him. He was a big character around the town.

"In our group of friends we were all very close, we were all family. We spent birthdays and Christmases together.

"There’s me, Daz, Rick, Alex, Gordon, David, Jimmy and Ryan. We’re all still heartbroken, every single one of us."

Ken Slater said: "He was absolutely brilliant. He’d do anything for anybody. He was the life and soul of every party. You can’t believe how many friends he had. Everybody knew him."

Ken said that he would be missed by his eight brothers and sisters and dozens of nephews and nieces.

He said: "We’re all going to miss him terribly. It’s devastating. I felt absolutely awful when I found out. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy."

Mr Slater was a joiner and had recently begun studying for a HND in construction at Blackburn College. A tribute site on Facebook has attracted more than 500 members in just a few days, with hundreds of messages of condolence.

Many of the messages express concern for Mr Slater’s dog Ernie, a mastiff cross.

Ken Slater said: "He’d had Ernie from being a puppy and he never put a lead round his neck. They went everywhere together. He’s really missing him."

He revealed that the pair were so close that Ernie will take up a very special position at Mr Slater’s funeral.

Ken said: "Ernie’s going to sit in the front seat of the funeral car and he’s going into the church.

"He’s having two Belgian black horses and a Victorian carriage at the funeral. It’s going to be a big funeral. We’re going to give him the best possible send off."

Dennis Slater’s funeral takes place at Rishton Parish Church on Thursday June 3 at 2pm.

The death has been referred to the Coroner.