TRIBUTES have been paid to a popular teenager who has died in hospital days after being found unconscious in woodland at a Southampton park.

Emergency services were called to woodland at Riverside Park after 17-year old Jay Cheshire was found by dog walkers.

He was found hanged near the riverbank and was taken to Southampton General Hospital where he later died on Sunday with his family by his side.

Officers from Hampshire police said they are not treating the incident as suspicious.

A file was being prepared for the coroner.

An inquest has yet to be opened which will examine the circumstances surrounding his death, pending the results of a post mortem examination.

Tributes to Jay have been led by staff at Bitterne Park school where he was a sixth form student.

Acting deputy headmaster Chris Whitbread said the school community was trying to come to terms with news of Jay’s death and students were being offered support to help them cope with the lost of their friend.

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He said: “We are very upset about the tragic death of Jay, who was a very popular lad who had many friends at Bitterne Park.

“We are providing all the extra support and help we can to students who feel they need it to help them cope with this awful news.”

Paul Cheyne, 45, an engineer from Itchen added: “I think it’s heartbreaking for his family for such an awful thing to have happened, it sounds like he was way too young to die and my thoughts go out to them, I hope they can find peace.”

Gary Long, 38 from Bitterne added: “I hadn’t heard anything about it happening on the actual day but what a horrific thing to happen on our doorstep. His poor family must be absolutely devastated, it’s shocking and truly sad to think such a young lad could die after being found in such a public place, it’s a tragedy.”

Mary Clarke, 67, retired from Bitterne Park said more help should be available to those who feel they need support.

“I think people high up should be looking at why this is going on and show us they are doing something about it because this is tragic and his poor family will probably have so many questions which can’t be answered because their poor boy has gone.”

A spokeswoman for Hampshire police confirmed to the Daily Echo that their investigations had found there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

She said: “We can confirm a 17-year-old boy has died. He was found unconscious in woodland at Riverside Park wood, near Woodmill in Southampton on Friday, July 3.

“Sadly, he died at Southampton General hospital on Sunday, July 5, his family were by his side. A file is being prepared by officers for HM Coroner.

“The incident is not being treated as suspicious.”

The incident comes after a search and rescue teams were searching for a 51-year old man who went missing in the park in May.

Barrie Thompson was discovered dead at an address in Woodmill Lane on Sunday, May 24, 10 days after being reported missing.

His car was found at Woodmill on Saturday, May 16, prompting a helicopter search of the area and officers to sweep the River Itchen.

Now residents near the park have said they are horrified that two incidents have happened closely together and are calling for more action to keep people safe.

“It’s a huge shock and so incredibly sad for his family, this is a horrific incident and so close to the one a few weeks ago I think police should look at taking extra safety measures.”

Jenny Lambert, 34, a retail worker from Bitterne said: “I heard about it from a neighbour but all we knew was that police were everywhere and suspected something bad might have happened along those lines.”