"The world will be quiet without him, very quiet."

Those are the words from the family of a man recently found dead in a Swindon woodland.

Karl Goodwin, who had just turned 34 in July, went missing on Wednesday night and was found at Seven Fields nature reserve in Penhill in the early hours of the following Thursday morning.

His mother, Sue, 64, and sister Tara, 30, who described Karl as an 'adventurous and lovable child-at-heart' have opened up about the circumstances leading to his death in an attempt to encourage others to seek help if they're in a similar position. 

"Leading up to that week, he and his partner's relationship had broken down. He was having money troubles and we had been told he had been gambling," Sue said. 

"He was working all of the time, he wasn't eating, he wasn't sleeping, but we never thought he might take his own life."

Tara added: "The night before, he was in my back garden teaching Darcie, my daughter and his niece, how to play a game called bouncy ball.

"Looking back it seems that was his way of saying goodbye."

Swindon Advertiser: Karl Goodwin enjoying martial artsKarl Goodwin enjoying martial arts

The two women talked about some of the good memories they had of him. 

They said that Karl's loves were climbing and kick-boxing, and that if he could climb something he would, even if he hurt himself and that Karl, an uncle and a father,  loved children and was great with them because he was a big kid himself.

Sue added Karl was also 'her rock' when her husband died from a form of skin cancer.

"He always worried about other people first, he was selfless. He was there when his dad died and held him in his arms," she said.

Now, both Sue and Tara say they should have been able to see it coming and wish that he had said something to them about how he was feeling. 

"I don't know why he didn't tell us, he sort of mentioned ribs and drabs of everything that was going on, but that was it."

They now want to urge anyone else who might be struggling with their mental health to talk to someone, anyone, it doesn't matter who. 

The family are in the early stages of funeral preparations but is still waiting for Karl's body to be released.

A friend of the family has set up a GoFundMe to help them with costs - https://gofund.me/8545a215.