Popular DJ David Stirton dies after heart attack

A RADIO presenter with no history of ill health has died from a heart attack aged 35.

David Stirton fronted The Feel Good Factory on East Coast FM for five years. Picture: contributed

David Stirton fronted a popular radio show on East Coast FM radio for five years but passed away earlier this month after collapsing in his kitchen.

The Tranent resident’s last duty for the station was commentating on a spectacular fireworks display in Haddington just two days before he died.

He began feeling unwell on the morning of November 1 and suffered a cardiac arrest in his home.

It is understood his wife Rebekah Stirton, a trained first aider, tried in vain to revive him before paramedics arrived.

In a poignant online tribute, she wrote: “I miss you the most at night when everything is quiet and the silence reminds me that I’m not sleeping next to you”.

Colleagues at East Coast FM have vowed to erect a plaque in the station’s reception area to honour Mr Stirton’s commitment to radio and have held a special show in his honour.

A nine-minute YouTube video has also been posted chronicling his life in pictures.

He is shown with his wife who is referred to as his “soul mate”, and enjoying nights out with friends while captions appear describing him as a “remarkable husband, friend and man” and a “modern hero”.

Ian Robertson, station manager at East Coast FM, said Mr Stirton had died tragically and, while sadly missed, would “never be forgotten”.

“David was a much-loved and respected volunteer member of the station and his wife Rebekah was also a member,” he said. “He is a great loss to the radio station because he was so heavily involved.

“David’s name was first on the teamsheet for the numerous community events attended by the station. His style and fun presentation was a joy for listeners.

“He was a really fun, happy and smiling individual – a smile I will never forget.

Mr Stirton, an IT specialist with the Royal Bank of Scotland, was a staple of East Coast FM, presenting The Feel Good Factory on a Friday night slot between 8pm and 10pm.

It is believed his show will continue with a new presenter.

More than 200 hundred mourners attended Mr Stirtons’s humanist funeral at the Tranent Co-Op Bowling Club on November 4.

Mr Robertson hopes Mr Stirton’s wife Rebekah would unveil the planned memorial at the station. He said: “I would refer to David as one of our hen’s teeth because good volunteers are like them.

“There are volunteers and then there was David who would help with everything from acting as duty manager for our school bell teams to training young and old on our new state-of-the-art studios. David may have tragically and sadly passed but he will never be forgotten.”

Mr Stirton, originally from Perth, was an avid supporter of his hometown football team St Johnstone and his dream came true when they won the Scottish Cup for the first time in May.