HUNDREDS of mourners gathered to celebrate the life of a “happy, successful and generous” Oxford-born man who is believed to have slipped and fallen to his death from a block of flats in London.

Patrick Burns, 28, grew up in Northway and lived in Cowley before moving to London recently to run his own air conditioning company.

The engineer’s body was found by a neighbour behind a mansion block in Clapham, south London, earlier this month. It is thought he slipped and fell from the fourth floor.

Family and friends congregated at the Christian Life Centre, formerly The Regal, in Cowley Road yesterday, ahead of a private funeral.

Close friend Jacob Mulvany, 24, from Northway, said Mr Burns had just come back from travelling around Thailand and Australia.

He said: “He loved life and was always out.

“He was very kind and was always looking out for his mates.

“He was quite successful with his business and gave some of his friends jobs. He really sorted quite a lot of us out.

“He was a really good guy, very happy and generous. He has done so much for us.”

The 28-year-old went to St Augustine’s Upper School, Iffley Turn, – which closed down in 2003 to make way for St Gregory the Great. The former Oxford schoolboy had run ACRM Services for 17 months before his death.

Since the discovery of his body on Saturday, June 6, a tribute page set up on Facebook has been “liked” by more than 1,000 people.

Tributes have poured in and friends have posted pictures of their favourite memories of the businessman.

His sister Natasha Rossiter posted: “I hope you can see all these wonderful messages and photos your very large community of friends and family have left for you.

“You blessed everyone you met....it was a true privilege to be your sister”

Another post from friend Geraldine Shenahan read: “You absolutely buzzed off of life and I think we all buzzed off of you and your energy.”

Mark Harper, who also went to St Augustine’s, posted: “RIP Paddy. Absolutely gutted to hear the news. The world needed more people like you, not less xx”

The Metropolitan Police initially launched an investigation into the unexplained death but now say they do not believe there were any suspicious circumstances, according to the Evening Standard.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as severe head injuries consistent with a fall from height.