British man, 21, found dead in hotel room in Thailand

A family have been left heartbroken after a ‘cheeky and happy’ British man died in Thailand on holiday.

Joshua Kershaw, 21, had flown out to Bangkok, Thailand, for a week’s holiday on January 12 when he stopped replying to his mum’s phone calls.

The young landscaper, from Grimsby, Lincolnshire, had told his family that he was travelling to the southern city of Pattaya for the trip.

But Joshua never made it out of Bangkok – his body was found by staff in the hotel room he was staying in.

The family have said he was found in his bed with a bandage around his arm seven days ago.

According to the family, Joshua’s mum, Jenny, 39, contacted the police about Joshua days ago, who then put his case on high alert yesterday before finding his body.

They then later confirmed he was found dead and is currently placed in a morgue. His cause of death is unknown.

Joshua’s aunt, Jade Kershaw, 31, has said they cannot return his body home until an investigation into his death and a post-mortem have been completed.

Jade, from Wakefield, said: ‘He was a cheeky chap and so full of joy. He was always happy, and there were never any bad moments with him. He leaves behind his four little sisters, who all love him so much.

‘He just loved to travel. He would go on holiday, come back and work for a couple of months, and then head back out.

‘On the day he arrived, he called home and he was doing fine, talking to Jenny about his journey. He then told her he was going to get some food, and then we hadn’t heard from him since.’

Joshua’s family said it’s unlike him not to reply or pick up his mum’s calls – he spoke to her daily.

The family started a GoFundMe to head out to Thailand and search for Joshua, but police came to Jenny’s home today and told her he had passed away.

Joshua’s aunt added, ‘She is absolutely devastated by the news. Hopefully, the post mortem won’t take long as we want him back home.’

In a post on social media, Jenny said: ‘As much as my heart is breaking right now, we have now located josh, but unfortunately he was not alive.

‘We are now trying to get his body back to the UK.’

Joshua was due to fly home to the UK on January 19, but didn’t board the flight.

Jade said she drove five hours to Heathrow to check just in case he had boarded the flight home, but she didn’t find him in the airport.

The family have been in contact with the international funeral directors to help bring his body home.

Jade said the money from the GoFundMe will now go towards bringing Joshua’s body back to the UK and his funeral costs.

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