The devastated parents of a Shropshire man who died following a house fire today paid tribute to their “caring” son.

Valero Zapater died in hospital following the blaze at his home in Wrockwardine Wood, Telford.

The 62-year-old was carried unconscious from the burning house by firefighters after staff at the Red Lion pub in New Road noticed smoke billowing from the windows and raised the alarm on Sunday.

Mr Zapater was taken to Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital but died on Tuesday.

Today his mother, Elaine Zapater, 81, said she and her husband, Joseph, 89, were devastated by the news.

Mrs Zapater said: “We know he was asleep and he left something on. We think he might have been doing some cooking.

“Valero was a very popular person, all around the area. He had a lot of friends and he loved going to the pub to have a drink.

“He knew everybody and everyone knew him.”

She added: “It will be a long time before we get over it.”

Mr Zapater also leaves a brother, Jose, 60, who lives in Birmingham.

Caring

Mr Zapater’s father said his son was a happy person to be around and he would be missed by everyone who knew him.

“He was great – he should not have gone,” he said.

“He didn’t have a person who didn’t like him and he liked to be around people.

“He was caring and a happy-go-lucky lad. He would come into the house and say “hello papa”. It’s terrible what happened.”

Following the tragedy, the couple said the support shown to them had been “wonderful”.

Mrs Zapater said: “All the neighbours have been very, very good.

“The nurses and doctors at the hospital were absolutely wonderful. They were so good to us, the support was marvellous.

“The police were also brilliant, we can’t thank them enough. They offered to do anything they could for us and take us anywhere we needed to go. They were marvellous.”

She added her son was a keen fundraiser and supporter of Help For Heroes.

By Jason Lavan