FRIENDS of Markham drag queen Jason Massiey are planning a tribute to his memory at this year's Cardiff Mardi Gras.

The body of Mr Massiey, 32, of John Street, was found floating in Pen-y-Fan pond, Manmoel, at 6.20am on Sunday.

He was believed to have been suffering from depression. Police are not treating his death as suspicious, and the Gwent coroner David Bowen has been informed.

His family were yesterday said to be devastated by the loss and his sister is understood to be flying in from Australia for the funeral.

Fellow drag artist who asked to be identified only as Miss Kitty, 27, of Riverside, Cardiff, was the on stage partner of Jason - alias Lady Ding - in their long-running show at Cardiff's Kings Cross.

He said: "Jason was my best friend and I don't think I could ever replace working with him - and as a friend I loved him dearly."

Mardi Gras marketing director Hayden Price said: "We're greatly shocked to hear of Lady Ding's death. He was the sort of character that had that x-factor which made him stand out above the rest, and he's going to be sorely missed.

"It will be hard to have the biggest event of the gay community in Wales without his presence.

"Jason will be fondly remembered and we will be paying tribute to him on the main stage at Mardi Gras on August 30."

And Chris Marshall, manager of the King's Cross pub in Cardiff, said: "Jason was probably the wittiest and most talented drag queen I've ever seen. He would have made it very big given the opportunity, so it's a great loss.

"He was a wonderful person and always had time for everybody. We will be doing a tribute night and we are also talking about doing it for charity."