THE son of a disabled artist who posed while pregnant with him for a statue on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth has died aged 19.

Parys Lapper, son of Alison Lapper, died suddenly a week ago, his mother’s fiance Si Clift confirmed on Facebook.

In a statement, he wrote: "Tragically, Parys Lapper, who was only 19 years old, died suddenly a week ago.

"Ali fought many battles against the establishment to keep Parys, bringing him up by herself in some very difficult circumstances indeed and continued to fight for him through his teenage years.

The Argus:

"Ali has expressed a dear wish that she would absolutely love to see as many noisy motorbikes as possible to escort Parys on his final journey from her home in Shoreham by sea to Worthing Crematorium on Thursday 29th to celebrate his life (he would have loved this too)."

Alison, 54, was born with phocomelia which meant she had no arms and shortened legs.

She posed for Marc Quinn in 2000 while pregnant with Parys.

His iconic marble sculpture was on display in Trafalgar Square from 2005 to late 2007 and is one of Britain’s most recognisable pieces of modern art.

A large replica of "Alison Lapper Pregnant" featured in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Paralympics.

Alison, from Brighton, fought for the right to keep her son in spite of her disability.

The Argus:

After his birth in 2000 she said: "When I saw him, I just cried and cried.

"The emotions I felt were indescribable. I had never imagined I was going to be a mother, never thought it could be possible.

"But when they placed him on my shoulder and I gave him a little kiss on his head and said 'hello', I was overwhelmed."

Parys’s life was watched by millions of BBC viewers in the acclaimed documentary series Child of Our Time, presented by Professor Robert Winston.

The idea was to chart the lives of 25 children until they reached their 20th birthdays to increase understanding of childhood development.

Parys is the only one of the 25 to have died before reaching that milestone.

The Argus:

Alison achieved a first-class honours degree in fine art at Brighton University and went on to become an artist herself, being awarded an MBE for services to art in 2003.

In an emotional speech in 2014, when she was awarded an honorary doctorate at Brighton, she described Parys as "my greatest piece of artwork and creation".

Mr Clift said Parys was "‘a mischievous, generous, kind, loving, frustrating, cheeky, forgiving, beautiful boy".

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "The coroner for West Sussex has been informed after a 19-year-old man, since identified as Parys Lapper, was found dead at an address in East Worthing. 

"The death was reported to Sussex Police on Tuesday 13 August. Results of a post-mortem examination are still awaited."