Father-of-three died suddenly at just 34

Then, as he drove home from work one night, he felt unwell, pulled to the side of the road – and died.

The married father-of-three had fallen victim to an undiagnosed heart condition.

Since then, his home town of Shifnal has rallied around his young family to raise money and support in his memory.

His widow Becky Wheatley today said a huge thank you to the people who have now raised more than £3,500 for him and organised a number of fundraising events in the weeks following his death, including a marathon football match over the weekend that raised £7,000.

Paying tribute to her husband, she said: "He was a family man, he adored us.

"He would do anything for anyone, he would always stop in the street to talk to people who needed help. He was amazing at his job, some of the emails I have had from his colleagues have been amazing. One of the clients he has been doing work for say they are going to put a plaque on the bridge in Darlaston that he was working on in his memory. He was an amazing, kind-hearted, lovely person."

Mr Wheatley was on his way back to the family home on Admirals Way from his work as a civil engineer at Dawnuss Construction on June 28 when he died.

Mrs Wheatley, 34, who works as a payroll assistant at Thomas Telford School, said: "He was due home at 6.30pm and he never arrived. We had a rule that he would always text me when he was leaving so I was expecting him home within an hour. At 11.20pm the police came and informed us."

Though Mrs Wheatley said some of the details surrounding his death are still uncertain, Mr Wheatley is understood to have died from a heart condition that he was never aware of.

Workers from his office and neighbouring buildings performed CPR on him for more than 25 minutes while they waited for paramedics but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Since his passing, Mrs Wheatley and the couple's three children, Idsall School pupil Ben, 13, Shifnal Primary School pupil Emily, 10, and three-year-old Max have been given huge support by the community, who have put up tributes and organised fundraisers in her husband's memory.

A keen darts player, the chalkboard around the dart board at the Wheatsheaf Pub in Shifnal was covered in tributes in the days after he died.

Mrs Wheatley said: "We had around 300 people attend the funeral on July 12, a testament to the man he was and how much so many people thought of him. There have been so many things, the Flower Pot in Shifnal had been friends with him for years so provided the flowers at cost. "It has definitely given all of us, me and the kids, some strength, knowing that people are supporting us and thinking about us."

There is talk of Mr Wheatley's friends taking on the Three Peaks Challenge and a darts tournament later this summer.