TRIBUTES have been paid to a young man described by his mum as ‘a ray of sunshine’ who tragically died, aged just 21.

Zak Wood, a former Watchet resident and student at West Somerset College, passed away on August 3 after a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis.

The condition, which affects one in 25 people, is an inherited condition which affects the lungs and digestive system.

Zak’s mum, Tracey Wood, has paid tribute to her son, who she says lived a full life and was well loved by a lot of people.

“We found out about Zak’s condition just two days after he was born in 1995,” she said.

“We moved to Watchet from Birmingham when Zak was eight years old and when he started at school, the headteacher was amazing.

“His son also suffered from the condition and knew how much care was involved to manage it so the school were really sympathetic.

“Zak made some really fantastic friends in Watchet and worked for Watchet Marina for about four years between 2010 and 2014 in the ice cream parlour and shop and everyone there loved him.”

Zak enrolled at West Somerset College in 2014 and was presented with a Nick Swann Endeavour Award for his hard work on his public services BTEC course.

“He was always a very determined, loving and kind person, he always wanted to help other people,” Tracey said. “For about a third of his life Zak was in hospital but for the rest of the time he lived a really full life.

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“He went to university, he had a girlfriend, a job, he worked really hard towards his goals and he was always willing to help everyone.”

Zak’s family moved back to Birmingham in 2014 after his health took a turn for the worse but his mother said he was still widely loved by Watchet residents.

“We made some amazing friends in Watchet who still stay in touch with the family and people really supported us when Zak was unwell,” she added. “He was an astonishing young man who was always smiling, he was a ray of sunshine and he was loved by a lot of people, we miss him terribly.”

Since Zak’s death, a number of residents have paid tribute to him on social media describing him as ‘a lovely man’.

James Burnell, Zach’s former boss, wrote: “As his former boss and a good friend of his I can hand on heart say that Zach was an absolute credit to you all and a fine example of the type of person I wish we all were.

“Zak, rest in peace, you were a pleasure to work with and one of the nicest young people I’ve ever met.”

Amy Duffield, a friend of Zak’s wrote: “Zak always looked out for me and we became very close friends.

“RIP Zak - gone far to young.”

Carol Preston wrote: “Zak and I often had long talks when out walking my dogs.

“He reminded me of my late son Richard.

“I feel for you all, a very sad loss of a very brave young man.”

Watchet resident, Lesley Peters is holding a memorial for Zak at Watchet Marina on August 23 at 4pm.

“I will have a memory book available for signing and sharing for anyone that can’t make it to Zak’s funeral,” she said.