The woman who died in a fall from the Whispering Gallery at St Paul's Cathedral last week 'loved God' and was 'the definition of good', according to her grieving family.

Lidia Dragescu, 23, from Romania, died when she fell from the 100-foot high gallery. She was holding two letters, one apologising to those who saw her fall and one to her mother Isabela.

The note to her mother apologised for upsetting her but said: 'I am doing this for me, to escape. All of the past and the present it makes my head heavy.'

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Isabela Dragescu said her daughter had loved St Paul's.

'She was normal, she loved God but she was very sad. She opened up to me about her sadness and sorrows about not fitting into this world.'

A talented student who wanted to become a brain surgeon, Lidia ran a website, 'Knowledge is Our Duty', which featured quotes from Einstein and TS Eliot as well as poems she had written.

Her mother also revealed she had been reading Dan Brown's thrillers and researching San Francisco's Zodiac Killer because she was 'fascinated by criminal minds'.

In a statement her family said: 'Our daughter and sister was the most beautiful person in the world. Her heart was pure and kind, a soul from another world.

'She was an outstanding student and a talented figure skater. Beautiful, intelligent and kind. She would always help me, not allowing me to do any difficult chores.

'Her love for us was beyond measure, she was selfless and kind. Everything that she had she shared with us, always putting us first. We love her and will always love her.

'For Lidia, the world has been a bad place to live in.'