Tribute has been paid by Manor-lands to a man who plunged to his death at the weekend.

University graduate Jack Yates, 21, died after falling down a stairwell void at York Racecourse.

This week it emerged Mr Yates had taken up running and recently raised £250 for the Oxenhope hospice.

The Sue Ryder centre is a chosen charity of Keelham Farm Shop in Thornton, where Mr Yates worked.

Andrew Wood, a Sue Ryder regional fundraiser based at Manorlands, said: “We were deeply saddened to hear the news about Mr Yates’ tragic death, and our thoughts and condolences go out to his family, friends and work colleagues.

“Manorlands receives a massive amount of fundraising support from Keelham Farm Shop, and we are hugely appreciative of all it does.

“This must be an incredibly difficult time for everyone there, and we are thinking of them.”

Mr Yates’ boss and farm shop co-owner, Victoria Robertshaw, said he had been a big part of the company’s success story, helping the business grow.

He had joined as a shy 16-year-old doing a Saturday job, then turned into a “fantastic, confident, young man”, whom she described as “a gift” of an employee.

Mr Yates, who lived at Queens-bury, died on Saturday at the end of the race meeting he had been watching with friends.

Police, who described his death as “a tragic accident”, are liaising with the Health and Safety Executive as the investigation into what happened continues.