A POSTMAN died at the wheel of his company van despite managing to call for an ambulance while having a heart attack.Peter Nichols worked for Royal Mail since he was 22 and had carried out a round in his home town of Stowmarket for the last nine years.

A POSTMAN died at the wheel of his company van despite managing to call for an ambulance while having a heart attack.

Peter Nichols worked for Royal Mail since he was 22 and had carried out a round in his home town of Stowmarket for the last nine years.

He was driving a company van earlier this week when he suffered an asthma-induced heart attack.

Janice Sebastiano, his mother, said: “He managed to call for an ambulance while still behind the wheel.

“The ambulance came within minutes but there was nothing anyone could do.

“We would like to thank the paramedics and hospital staff who tried their best to help.”

Ms Sebastiano described her 36-year-old son as someone who would never let his asthma hold him back.

She said: “He would never have a day off work and was always adventurous.

“We would get a phone call at the last minute saying he had booked a holiday and was off to travel the world.

“He had been everywhere and always brought a little piece of his journeys back home by hanging souvenirs in the house.

“He didn't seem to be worried to travel alone and would make friends by going into a bar in another country by himself and chatting to the people in there.

“Even in England he had that mentality and would be the first on the dance floor and always singing karaoke.

“He loved people, nature and animals - that was just who he was.”

In 1997 Peter bought a house with his twin brother Philip and the two have lived there ever since.

Philip Nichols said: “We had similar personalities and have always got on well.

“We liked living together and even had similar careers. We both started working in a garden centre, in Glossup, and then moved on to become postmen.”

A funeral will be held at the West Suffolk Crematorium, Bury St Edmunds, on June 2 at 12.45pm.