Tributes pour in to 'gentle giant' with a 'beautiful soul' after man's body is found in South Yorkshire

Phillip Campbell from Hemingfield in Barnsley was last seen leaving his home during the early hours of Saturday, and police said a body believed to be his was found the following morning close to Burying Lane in Elsecar.

Friends and family have paid tribute to the 34-year-old father, who was a keen kickboxer and boxer.

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Farhad Ali, chief instructor at AFK Kickboxing club in Sheffield, where Phillip had been a regular, described him as a talented kickboxer whose fierce intelligence and great sense of humour helped him quickly became ‘part of the crew’.

“He was a great guy who was very generous and very well liked. He was definitely a character and everyone knew him as a gentle giant,” he added.

“I remember he was very good at maths. He used to play poker and he once told me how he got banned from a casino because he was so good at working out all the probabilities.

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“He was a talented kickboxer and after he switched to boxing he had two bouts, both of which he won.”

One of his fellow kickboxers, Khalid Al Johani, said: “He was such a great person and funny guy. We had some good sparring and I remember that he used to think that I was a Jamaican guy. We all loved big Phil.”

Paying tribute on social media, one woman remembered him as ‘such a pleasant and lovely man’, while another called him a ‘wonderful guy and beautiful soul’.

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Others described him as ‘one of the true gentlemen you could ever meet’ and told how he was ‘really sweet’.

One of his fellow kickboxers said: “Phil was really well liked and was described as the gentle giant. He’ll be sadly missed but he definitely won’t be forgotten.

Another said: “So sorry for your loss. I knew him from kickboxing. He was one of the nicest guys who ever set foot in our gym. Much love.”