Tributes have been paid after the shock death of a devoted mum who passed away suddenly of a brain haemorrhage.

Pippa Astbury collapsed at her home in Accrington complaining of a headache just hours after picking up her nine-year-old son John Aaron from school.

The former B&M Bargains worker died the next day on Thursday, November 15, aged 41.

Her ex-partner John Higginson said Pippa was ‘the best person in the world’ and her death is a ‘shock for everybody’.

He said: “We went to pick up John Aaron from school and when she got home she was complaining about a headache and had never had anything like it before.

“She went to bed for half an hour and then she shouted ‘John, John’.

“She came downstairs with a phone in her hand and was calling the ambulance. She fell into my arms and I thought she was having a stroke

“It’s a shock for everybody. She was very well known and popular.”

Pippa’s father Keith said she was a ‘sweet and devoted daughter and mother’.

He said: “She lived her life for John Aaron. She was just starting to make her life for herself and was going to college to learn new skills and help people. She was a real people person.”

Melissa Targett said Pippa, who was a volunteer at the Women’s Centre in Accrington, was the best sister she could have wished for.

She said: “She was wonderful and kind, a truly beautiful person inside and out and was an amazing mum to John Aaron.

“She will be truly missed but her legacy will live on through him.”

Michelle Beech worked with Pippa at B&M Bargains and also studied with her at The Waterside Centre in Accrington.

She said: “I saw her after school on the Wednesday and she looked really well.

“She seemed absolutely fine. I text her later that night but didn’t receive a message back and the morning after I was told what happened. It was very sudden and very shocking.

“She was just wonderful and so lovely. She would help anybody and was such a devoted mum.”

A funeral service will take place at Accrington Crematorium on Thursday, November 29, at 12.20pm.

An online JustGiving page has raised more than £1,400. To donate visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mark-targett .