Heartbroken mum of 'cheerful, loving' 13-year-old Sheffield boy who died suddenly hails community support

The city has come together to mourn the loss of loveable Alfie Hague, from Hackenthorpe, who passed away unexpectedly at his home on Sunday, January 10.

Scores of people including Sheffield band Reverend And The Makers have backed a campaign to ‘turn Twitter blue’ for the youngster, an anonymous artist has painted a moving mural on the shutters of the family cafe, and a craftswoman has generously produced personalised face masks for Alfie’s loved ones to wear at his funeral.

Care home residents tick off their bucket list with visits to Disneyland and Australia during lockdown

Alfie’s mum Michelle said: “He was such cheerful, loving boy. He had a lot of friends and nobody had a bad word to say about him.

"He spent a lot of time on his PC, playing the usual games like Fortnite, and he wanted to be a YouTuber when he grew up.

"We’re devastated by his death but the support we’ve had has been amazing and I’d like to thank everybody who’s pulled together in Alfie’s memory.

"It’s meant so much to us and really helped us through this. It’s brought me to tears but in a good way.

Campaign to help feed vulnerable children in Sheffield more than doubles fundraising goal

"It’s not just friends and family, either. Even complete strangers have reached out and it’s been overwhelming.”

The face masks for the funeral, bearing Michelle’s ‘Moo Moo’ pet name for Alfie, were lovingly crafted by Katie Taylor, from Hackenthorpe.

The campaign to turn Twitter blue was launched by Alfie’s family and has been backed by his friends, with many strangers touched by his loss also getting on board.

The appeal has been widely shared by Sheffield Wednesday fans, as Alfie’s dad, Matthew, is a big Owls supporter and had taken his son to games.

Sheffield singer who wowed judges on The Voice releases new acoustic single

The shutters of Spa Cafe on Birley Spa Lane, which Alfie’s family run, were painted with a blue heart, angel wings and a halo in tribute to the youngster.

As well as flooding Twitter with blue hearts, people have been sharing their memories of the special youngster.

“He was a wonderful lad full of life and our hearts are destroyed,” wrote one person.

Another said: “He was such a polite, well-mannered young man, always smiling.”

Alfie attended Westfield School, where he was a popular pupil, and Michelle said both Westfield and his primary school, Rainbow Forge Academy, had been incredibly supportive.

He was taken suddenly ill on January 10 and paramedics, including a crew from Yorkshire Air Ambulance, were called but were sadly unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced dead at his home.

Michelle told how Alfie had been born in the year of the 2007 Sheffield floods and Matthew had joked about calling him Noah.

As a young boy, she recalled, he had once painted the fish tank with emulsion and put hand prints all over the new sofa.

Michelle added that his favourite places included Salou, in Spain, the Sherwood Forest Center Parcs, and Skegness, where he loved the rides.

Alfie had an older sister, Chloe, aged 20, and a big brother, Jack, aged 17.

His funeral is due to take place at City Road Cemetery on Monday, February 8.

Alfie’s family are asking people to donate to Yorkshire Air Ambulance in his memory.