KEEP fit fanatic Steve Dawber, who went to the gym every day, suffered a heart attack as he drove home from work.

His Ford Sierra was seen to veer onto a lay-by on the Edenfield by-pass -- before smashing into a stationary van.

Mr Dawber (44) was rushed to Bury General Hospital on Monday afternoon, but he died soon after. His body bore no injuries from the crash.

A postmortem on Wednesday confirmed the divorcee died from natural causes. An inquest will not now be held into the tragedy.

The painter and decorator lived with his girlfriend Mrs Anne Halton and her two daughters, university student Sarah (19) and 13-year-old Rachel, at Sherwood Close in Tottington.

Mrs Halton, a health care worker at Fairfield General, told the Bury Times that Mr Dawber had no history of heart trouble and that his death had come as a great shock.

"He went to the gym every night," said the 46-year-old. "His friends thought I was joking when I told them Steve had died. He was a very fit man."

Mrs Halton began seeing Mr Dawber in September of last year although the couple had known each other since childhood.

Mr Dawber attended the former Wellington Secondary School and turned to decorating on leaving school. Paying tribute to her boyfriend Mrs Halton said: "Steve always had a smile on his face. Everybody liked him and Rachel was very close to him. He was always joking with her."