A GRIEVING Hampshire family have told of the tragic loss of their beloved youngest son who died from a head wound following an incident outside a Titchfield country club.

The death of Paul Whiteside, 37, from Marchwood, has left his parents, brothers, and sisters struggling to come to terms with the waste of a bright and energetic life.

Speaking to the Echo at their home in Southampton's Thornhill, Keith and Iris Whiteside told of their pride in a son who had seen the world but liked nothing better than a Sunday dinner at the family home.

They pointed to the number of friends, neighbours and colleagues who have come forward since Paul's death as a measure of his popularity.

Mr Whiteside said: "Even I didn't realise that he had so many friends and people who respected him until now, and I'm his father."

Mrs Whiteside added: "Everything that could be said about him has been said by his friends and colleagues."

Paul, a former sea cadet and pupil of Warsash's School of Navigation, enjoyed a distinguished service at sea.

By 1982 he was serving as a crew member aboard the Antarctic survey ship Bransfield, based in Port Stanley.

While aboard Paul had a near miss with history-making events when the ship left the port only a day before Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands.

Mrs Whiteside said: "It was so confusing at the time and we thought he had certainly been caught up in it.

"But we later had a letter telling us not to panic."

Paul later went on to join the Royal Navy in which he achieved an exemplary record before leaving in 1991.

During his six years in the service, Paul saw a stint patrolling the Gulf during the Iran-Iraq conflict.

He also served aboard the HMS Nottingham when it accompanied the Royal Yacht Britannia on a tour of the East.

Paul was married in 1987 but later divorced when he left the Navy.

He leaves brothers Neil and Melvyn and sisters Anne and Janice but no children. Father-of-two Melvyn, 39, said: "More than anything I want it to come out how much he is missed and loved. He was totally part of the community where he lived."

Neighbour Mark Baker, secretary of the residents' committee of which Paul was director, said on behalf of all the Village Mews residents: "He was someone with whom we were able to share life's ups and downs as his door was always open."

The Whiteside family are planning a memorial service at Marchwood's parish church.

Bryn Melvyn Edwards, 38, of Pond Road, Sarisbury Green, is due to appear before Fareham magistrates this morning charged with Paul's murder outside Abshot Country Club, in Park Gate, during the early hours of Saturday.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.