• Michael Handley, 20, was taken to the same hospital as Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher
  

• Suffered a severe head injury after becoming airborne part way through a run before tumbling 200 metres downhill

• After two days in intensive care he passed away - family is devastated
  

By Mark Shapland

PUBLISHED: 10:41 GMT, 4 March 2014 | UPDATED: 11:42 GMT, 4 March 2014

A British snowboarder has tragically died in a accident in France while training for the British Championships.

Michael Handley, 20, suffered a severe head injury after becoming airborne part way through a run before tumbling 200 metres downhill.

He was treated for his injuries in the nearby Grenoble University Hospital on the same ward as Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher, who was injured in a skiing accident last year.

After two days of intensive care, he passed away with his family by his side.

Devastated parents Tony and Tracey said their son was popular, lively and 'the life and soul of the party'.

Tony added: 'He was an inspiration to me. He was my son and he made me want to do more with my life.He was so young but he'd achieved so much. He'd travelled all over and made friends all around the world. He really lived life to the full.'

Michael had been working winter seasons at Mont-de-Lan for the past two years  and had been snowboarding down one of the mountains on the alpine resort, Les  Deux Alpes - on a route that he had taken many times before.

Michael, from Blackburn, was born on August 6, 1993, and had two older brothers, Tom and Sam, and a twin brother, Matthew.

Described as a bright and intelligent child, Michael left school with nine GCSEs and went on to study at St Mary's College but found that academia did not nurture his naturally adventurous nature.

Tony said: 'He was a clever lad but he just wanted to be out there living. He was always dying to travel and experience new things and he always loved  surfing, biking, swimming - any outdoor extreme sport.'

For the past three years, he spent his time between Newquay and Cornwall, working in hotels and surfing as often as he could, and the French alps, where he would snowboard inbetween working as a manager at La Farandole hotel.