Willy Collins’ family praise 'amazing' Sheffield funeral and insist they did nothing wrong

The city’s streets came to a standstill on Saturday (15 August) as hundreds turned out to pay their respects to the 49-year-old dad-of-nine, who died suddenly last month while on holiday in Spain celebrating his wife’s birthday.

Mark Hobson, who lives opposite Shiregreen Cemetery where Willy was laid to rest, claimed there were “comfortably 600” people at the funeral, with many motorists and motorcyclists parked on pavements and gardens. Current Government guidelines state funerals should be limited to no more than 30 people.

Kathleen, 48, said: “Everything went lovely, quiet and peaceful with plenty of friends and family.

"There were no police there to cordon off the road. They could go to public houses and shut them down but yet they couldn’t cordon off the road, which could have caused accidents. My son William had to control the traffic himself.”

City comes to standstill for traveller funeral of 'King of Sheffield' PICTURE GALLERY

The family said police attended Shiregreen Cemetery at 6am on Saturday with sniffer dogs ahead of the funeral but did not have a physical presence on the day. Mark said police told him a drone was instead deployed to record footage of the procession.

Kathleen added: “It would have been nice to have the police if trouble did start. The turnout was beautiful. We had people from all over the world of every ethnic group, every race, colour come and pay their respects.”

Willy’s son, William, 28, said: “It was what we wanted for him. Everybody said it was probably the best funeral any traveller has ever had in England.

"He would have been happy, he was a character and he wasn’t a stranger to Sheffield. He grew up all his life here. The majority of people at the funeral were from Sheffield.

"It was definitely fit for a king. It was amazing.”

Police issue statement on off-road bikes across Sheffield at Willy Collins funeral

In a statement, Sheffield Council said ahead of the funeral they “did what we could to ensure the safety of mourners, the local community and staff, including providing public health advice to limit the risk of spread of Covid-19.” South Yorkshire Police added the Government’s guidance “is not enforceable as law”.