A HEARTBROKEN dad has told how this year’s Mother’s Day was an emotional occasion.

Dave Holmes, 55, of Wheeler Avenue, Upper Stratton, struggled after the sudden death of his 25-year-old daughter Joanne on January 7.

He said telling his little granddaughter Chantelle – Joanne’s only child – that her mum was an angel resting with the stars in the sky is the hardest thing he has ever done.

In a loving tribute, three-year-old Chantelle stuck different pieces of coloured tissue paper onto a yellow card at her Gorse Hill nursery and addressed it “to someone special” on Sunday.

Last night dad-of-two Dave said: “Chantelle did ask where Mummy was on Mother’s Day. It’s very hard to explain to a three-year-old, but she understands her mum is an angel in the sky.

“If she looks up to the stars at night then that’s where mummy is.”

Joanne’s mum Pat added: “We still find it very hard – it’s all so emotional.

“We knew we had to tell Chantelle about her mum and went through with it days after she died.

“I find it hard sometimes as Chantelle is the spit of Jo when she was her age. She acts in the same way too.”

The tearful landmark came shortly after Dave discovered that Joanne died of sudden adult death syndrome (SADS).

It’s a condition that sometimes has no warning signs, with research showing it claims about 500 people a year in the UK.

Joanne, of Argyle Street, Gorse Hill, was found by her dad and a family friend in bed, clutching a hot water bottle. Despite the best efforts of attending paramedics the young mum was pronounced dead at the scene.

“It’s the not knowing that someone close to you is ill,” said Dave.

“That is the hardest thing to take. Joanne’s death was completely out of the blue.”

Joanne was considered a “daddy’s girl” by her friends and family. She was known to spend hours on end speaking to him on her mobile phone.

Last month more than 200 mourners paid their final respects at Kingsdown Crematorium to Joanne, who worked in the hospitality department at the Wyvern Theatre.

Theatre director Derek Aldridge said: “We were all shocked and saddened by Joanne’s sudden death.

“Our thoughts are with her brother, Mark, who is our head chef, and all of the family.”

A date for Joanne’s inquest has not yet been fixed, but it’s likely to go ahead before May.

To leave an online tribute for Joanne, visit ‘RIP Joanne Holmes’ on Facebook. The page has more than 640 members.

You can also make donations in lieu to Chantelle’s trust fund through funeral directors AE Smith and Son, based in Queens Drive, Swindon SN3 1AW or call 01793 522023.

SUDDEN adult death syndrome (SADS), also known as sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, generally affects people aged 14 to 35.

In about one in every 20 cases of sudden cardiac death, no definite cause can be found, even after the heart has been examined by an expert cardiac pathologist.

It is thought that cot death – sudden infant death syndrome –, may be partly due to the same causes responsible for SADS.

Inheritance of this underlying syndrome could be a genetic disorder. Joanne Holmes’ brother Mark, 30, has already been tested for the disease and was given the all-clear by doctors.