Tributes paid to Sheffield man who died after contracting coronavirus

Leonard Gibson, aged 78, died in the Northern General Hospital yesterday morning after being diagnosed with Covid-19 a few days earlier.

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His daughters, Lisa Broughton and Michelle Lenton, want his death to serve as a warning to others about the need to take the illness seriously.

Leonard, who lived in sheltered housing in Oughtibridge for the last two years, raised his family in Woodhouse after moving to Sheffield from Northern Ireland when he was 26.

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Paying tribute to him on Facebook, his niece Theresa Eyers described him as a ‘true gentleman’.

“It has left us all in disbelief. My cousins Lisa and Michelle are heartbroken but at the same time trying to make people more aware of the the coronavirus and to help. He is a great loss to our family.”

Also posting on Facebook, Julia Gladman said: “This is very sad news. He was such a lovely gentleman.”

Joanne Oxer added: “What a wonderful man he was.”

And Andrea Louise posted: “R.I.P Leonard. Lovely memories of you as I was a child growing up.”

More than £500,000 has been donated to help people affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the last eight days, according to the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform.

GoFundMe said more than 300 campaigns have been created to raise cash for causes ranging from a GP asking for money to buy protective equipment for his colleagues to a small zoo worried about how it will feed its animals.