A doting man has taken on his seven-year-old autistic brother after both their parents died within a year of each other. Devastated Conar Sycamore, 29, was even asleep in the same room as his mother when she passed away suddenly in her sleep - just weeks before her partner planned to propose. Childhood sweethearts, Clara Sycamore, 50, and her long-term partner, Colin Flatman, 51, both died suddenly from unrelated illness within 12 months of each other. Clara’s oldest son, Conar has bravely stepped up from ‘fun brother’ into a fatherly role as he attempts to bring up his younger sibling, Mason Flatman, single-handed. The half-brothers, who shared mum, Clara, are now trying to navigate a life without their much-loved parents.

Conar, a head chef, from Colchester, Essex, said: "As Father’s day approaches it’s all starting to feel really real. I can never replace Mason’s amazing dad, but I have to try and do all the things that he would have done. I’m still his big brother but now I’m the one raising him. Coupled with the loss of our parents, it’s a lot to take on but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Family is family."