The devastated family of a "fun-loving" head tennis coach with a "heart of gold" have paid tribute following his death months after he suffered a traumatic brain injury while training for a charity boxing match.

Lloyd Burton, from Benfleet, was head coach at Hadleigh Lawn Tennis Club when he took up boxing training for additional fitness.  At the start of the year, he had an opportunity to train for a charity event, which was set to be held in April.

However, Lloyd, then 26, took a blow in training which knocked him out at the end of March.

A CT scan showed Lloyd had sustained a major bleed on the brain and he was put into an induced coma. 

Lloyd, who was also a tennis coach at the Deanes Sports Centre, underwent major surgeries following the accident and his family say he recently went back to hospital for a final surgery which should have given him the opportunity to make a more improved recovery.

Sadly, the 27-year-old passed away on Monday. Bailey Burton, his younger brother, shared: "As many of you will already know the deeply sad news, our beloved Lloyd passed away on Monday evening with his family by his side until the very end.

"Lloyd had fought so incredibly hard over the last 8 months and although he wasn’t the exact same Lloyd we all knew and loved, his personality and fighting spirit still shone through brighter than ever. Lloyds progress had been slow and he went back to hospital for a final surgery that should have given him the opportunity to make a more improved recovery that he was so deserving of, we were so close to having him back and he was so cruelly taken from us at the final hurdle by no fault of his own."

Lloyd played in all of Deanes Sports Centre's competitive teams including Essex League, Essex Team Tennis and Leigh and Westcliff Leagues and was "central" to the team character.

"My parents and I are completely devastated, a void will be left forever in our hearts, Lloyds fun loving spirit will live on through everyone that was lucky enough to know him. He really did leave a big impact in such a short time," Bailey continued.

"It’s hard to put into words how proud I am of my brother for all that he has accomplished in his short life and for his courage over the last 8 months, I honestly couldn’t have been blessed with a better big brother. He was kind, caring, loving, had a heart of gold, and would light up any room! I would do anything to have him back but I know there’s nothing I can do but to honour his memory with everything that I do."

A fundraising campaign launched by Lloyd’s family in July, to help his recovery, has raised more than £59,000.

Bailey added: "We want to thank everyone so much for all the support you have given Lloyd and our family, this wasn’t how we envisaged things to go. We told Lloyd regularly about all the fundraising efforts that were going on and I truly believe he wanted to take part in every event if he could have.

"Lloyd is now at peace and hopefully having fun and playing tennis wherever he may be."