THE family of Nicholas Upson has absolved the prison authorities of any blame for his death. His suicide at the prison on Saturday has come as a deep shock and left his supportive family devastated.

‘He was happy-go-lucky and was a loving husband and father and his daughter adores him,’ his dad, Dave, said yesterday.

‘He was upbeat and nothing fazed him, which is why it is such a shock. He was liked by most people that he met – he was a loving son and we loved him. It was a combination of circumstances but we never expected anything like this to happen because he was a strong character.

They said he had decided he was going to study law within the prison’s education system.

‘My wife and I and Nick’s wife would like to make it clear that we do not apportion blame in any way to the prison authorities or anyone else for that matter and would like to mourn our deep and personal loss within our family. We would just like to thank everyone for their support and everyone who has phoned or written for their concern at this difficult time.’

Nicholas’s stepmother Kim works at the prison but was not on shift at the weekend.

The 26-year-old inmate was preparing to fight his case, which it is believed might have gone ahead this summer in the Royal Court.

‘He was playing cards and doing all the normal things and he had just faced up to the fact that he might be there a long time,’ said Mr Upson. ‘The family is in shock.’

Police investigations are continuing. A spokesman said that a post-mortem was carried out and concluded yesterday morning.

‘We are not treating it as suspicious,’ said the spokesman.

There is no indication of when an inquest will be held.