A grieving husband is warning of a “silent assassin” health condition that claimed the lives of his wife and sister-in-law.

James Webber, 25, now has to live with the fear his son Freddy will suffer the same fate one day and die without warning.

The Telscombe Cliff resident discovered his wife Cheryl dead in her bed on December 15 last year.

She had been a healthy and fit 37-year-old and an inquest into her death last week confirmed she had died from sudden adult death syndrome.

The nurse, who worked at Royal Sussex County Hospital for nine years, was believed to have no medical conditions.

For Mr Webber it was a second blow because his sister-in-law tragically died in the same way seven years earlier.

The family had actually been screened since the passing of Cheryl’s sister and had been working very hard for the past seven years to find a solution to the problem.

He does not blame the health services as he realised the condition is extremely hard to detect, especially as so little is known about it.

He contacted charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) who explained on average 12 young adults per week in the UK die from the condition.

It is believed the syndrome, which could be caused by a slight heart arrhythmia, is genetic and his four- year-old son is now being screened yearly as well as his two nieces.

Mr Webber said: “The way I look at it is like a silent assassin.

“There is no way anybody can do anything about it or stop it.

“Cheryl had no chance as she showed no symptoms. There was no warning that this was going to hap- pen so the shock was terrible.

“She was a very loving wife, mother, daughter and a special person. It is very much genetic and hereditary so all the members of my family are being screened.

"It is frightening, a horrible situation.”

Mr Webber wanted to warn others about the deadly silent killer and urged people to get screened, especially if they showed any symptoms such as fainting, black-outs and irregular heartbeat.

The condition is similar to that which affected Premier League footballer Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed during a football game last year.

Mr Webber said: “The difference was he was in front of 40,000 people of which one was a cardiologist.

“Most people do not have that.”

Anyone worried about a possible condition can visit the CRY website at c-r-y.org.uk to find out more information and screenings.