A MAN has died 10 days after suffering serious head injuries when he fell down the steps at Burnley Library.

An investigation has been launched by Lancashire County Council into the accident which killed David Eccleston.

Today, his girlfriend revealed he had proposed to her just days before the fall - and she had been waiting for him to recover so she could say 'yes'.

David, 45, a father of three, of Brownhill Avenue, Burnley, had recently fallen in love with his next-door neighbour Alisa Anderson.

Alisa, 30, said: "He was my soulmate. I had never been in love before but David and I just seemed to click.

"David had asked me to marry him just a couple of days before the accident. I didn't want to rush things but I really wish that I had said yes straight away now and that's something I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life."

Mr Eccleston fell down the library steps on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 16.

He suffered serious head injuries and was taken to Preston Royal Infirmary, where he remained in intensive care until he died on June 26.

Lancashire County Council has launched an investigation into how and why David fell down the steps.

Alisa added: "I can't understand what happened and why he was taken away from me and his family at such a young age.

"I was expecting him to wake up from the coma so I could tell him that I would marry him."

David, a keen rugby and Formula One fan, enjoyed walking and going to locals pubs.

David leaves his ex-wife Caroline, and his three children 16-year-old twins Kyle and Lucy, and Franceska, 19, who live in Cliviger.

Alisa added: "His children are all stunning. He loved them all very much and always spoke very highly of them.

"I can't begin to imagine how they must be feeling but they can feel sure that they all had a special part in David's heart and he loved them all so much."

The funeral will be held at Rochdale Crematorium, where David was born and brought up, tomorrow at 1pm.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "All we can say at this moment in time is that we are aware of the incident and we are investigating."

An inquest has been opened and adjourned for further inquiries to be made. A post-mortem examination carried out at Burnley General Hospital revealed that he died of bronchial pneumonia due to a head injury.