Friends of man who died in Tenerife raise £4,000 to fly home body

Andrew Littler's wife said this was the first time the couple had not taken out travel insurance

More than £4,000 has been raised to fly home the body of a man who died while scuba diving on holiday in Tenerife.

Lorry driver Andrew Littler, 53, from Coalville, Leicestershire, was learning to dive on Valentine's Day when he suffered a cardiac arrest.

Friends have raised the money to help repatriate his body because he and his wife did not have insurance.

His wife, Lesley Littler, said the couple forgot to buy it, adding: "I just want him home."

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The couple, who have two daughters, were on holiday to celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary.

"We always went away on our anniversary, we went to Tenerife every year and we loved it there," Mrs Littler said.

On the day of his death, Mr Littler - who also worked as a mobile DJ - had gone diving with friends.

Mrs Littler added: "This was the first time I have never been with him. I would be stood on the sand waving at him.

"But I said, 'go and enjoy yourself, have a good time'. He loved diving, he absolutely loved it."

'A true friend'

She said he signalled to one of his co-divers he felt unwell so they got him out of the water and attempted to resuscitate him, but they could not save him.

Mrs Littler flew back to the UK on Saturday and said the family was now trying to organise the repatriation of Mr Littler's body, which will cost about £3,500.

"This is the first time we went on holiday without any insurance," she said.

"I don't know how, this time we just forgot. It just went out of our heads. We just wanted to get away."

Paying tribute to Mr Littler, friend David Granger wrote on Facebook: "Andrew was a true friend of mine for more than 30 years - he's helped me a fair few times, he will be greatly and sadly missed."

Another friend, Stephen Greenhalgh, said: "We were friends for over 24 years. What a sad loss, he will be missed."