Mother, 28, collapses and dies in street as she pushes son in pram

TRIBUTES have been paid to a young mother of two who died after she collapsed while walking her baby son in his pram.

Alison Monro, 28, collapsed in Aberdeen and died later in hospital. Grampian Police are treating her tragic death as "unexplained".

Ms Monro had two children, 16-month-old Christopher and 11-year-old Amber. Her former partner, Barry Stephen, 34, yesterday described her as a "beautiful, lovely and caring mum".

Mr Stephen, who was Ms Monro's partner for four years, said the suddenness of her death had yet to sink in. He said Ms Monro, who was originally from Elgin, was well known in the local community.

He said: "She was such a well-loved person by everyone. And she was such a happy person. She would speak to everybody and would help anyone. She used to give pounds out to people who lived on the street. That was the type of person she was."

Mr Stephen, who is Christopher's father, added: "He's always going to have a part of his mum with him. And when he's older, I'm going to have to tell him that his mum has gone up to heaven. I'll always tell Christopher how much she loved him and that she'll be waiting for him with open arms."

Ms Monro collapsed in King Street on Friday afternoon and died the same day in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Mr Stephen said: "I had just seen her on Thursday and she seemed fine. She was lovely. She was beautiful. She was just a really lovely and caring mum."

Neighbours also paid tribute to the "dedicated" mother. Care worker Peter Russell, 52, said: "It's just dreadful. Any time I saw her, she was with Christopher. She seemed like a really nice mum. She was very dedicated."

Another neighbour, Aaron Milne, 24, rushed to help Ms Monro when he saw her collapse on the city-centre street outside the Wash-Hoose laundry shop.

He said: "She was a lovely person. We talked every time we saw each other. The last few years, any time I've had a barbecue or something like that, I would always invite her around.

"You would always see her with Christopher. She was always holding and playing with him."

A spokesman for Grampian Police said: "At 3.15pm on Friday, Grampian Police attended at King Street, Aberdeen, following a report that a 28-year-old woman had collapsed there. She was taken to hospital where she died.

"The death is being treated as unexplained at the moment and police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the woman collapse or have any information to contact Grampian Police."