Friends of an eccentric lord who was found dead at his home over the weekend have paid tribute to an "original raver".

Lord Jago Eliot's body was discovered in the bath at the farmhouse he shared with his ex-model wife Bianca Ciambriello on his father's 6,000-acre Cornish estate.

The 40-year-old's death, which is not being treated as suspicious by police, has sparked a ripple of fond memories among clubbers who worked and partied with him in Brighton while he was a stage manager at the up-and-coming Zap Club.

Jago became involved with the Zap Club a couple of years after it moved into its permanent venue on the seafront in 1984.

He went on to hold his monthly Fundamental nights in the Nineties at Zap as the club flourished to become one of the most renowned nightspots in the country.

Jerry Swift, 39, of Preston Circus, Brighton, worked with him at the club as one of the bar managers.

Mr Swift, who is now a stagehand at the Brighton Centre, said: "Jago was a very, very colourful stage manager. He was as colourful in his dress as he was in his personality - and that was colourful.

"He was inherently rich but it wasn't obvious. I only found out he was a lord when I went to cash in a cheque for him which referred to him as Lord Eliot.

"He was someone who illuminated my life."

Josh Dean, who knew him from working at the Zap and who is now a promoter at the Concorde, also paid tribute to Jago.

He said: "He was one of the original ravers."

Paul Kemp, who also knew Jago, said: "He was a great guy with a colourful personality."

Friends believe Jago was attracted to the Bohemian side of Brighton but he did not return to the city often after leaving several years ago.

He had three children - twin girls Ruby and Violet, aged three, and a baby boy Albert.