'Much-loved' Charlie needs proper send-off

CHARLIE Birmingham (right) died in the road accident

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A CAMPAIGN has been set up to give a Royton man a decent send off ­- 14 weeks after he tragically died.

Charlie Birmingham (55) was hit by a truck on Shaw Road, in Royton, on Friday, April 8.

He was taken to Salford Royal Hospital suffering with serious head injuries and died the next day.

It has now been 14 weeks since he passed away but his body remains with the coroner following the inquest.

While his family have applied for a death grant to support some of the funeral costs, they need to raise a £1,500 deposit for his funeral.

Linzi Millward (44), who works for Cheshire East Council, had been renting her property in Norwood Crescent to Charlie for nine years.

Like others who knew Charlie, she presumed that the funeral had already happened, until she saw that his possessions were still at her property.

Linzi then took it upon herself to set up a JustGiving page to raise £4,000 needed to finally give Charlie a burial.

She said: "It's just about making things right, about making good of a bad situation.

"All his belongings are still at the property. I kept in touch with his brother Barry. The family can't afford to get him buried.

"They have applied for a grant from social services but the family are unable to raise the £1,500 deposit for his funeral.

"After 14 weeks you need to have closure and especially given the tragedy of how he went. It wasn't expected.

"People just presumed that because the flowers at the scene disappeared, that everything had just gone as normal.

"So I just volunteered to move things on for the family."

Charlie, originally from St Helens, was was a big lover of music and Everton FC. He had been working at Park Cake Bakery, in Ashton Road, until January.

Linzi explained that he was well known in the area and missed by many.

She added. "I would go round every week to pick up the rent. He was very genuine.

"He was really loved on the street. He was such a gentle character. he always had everybody's interests at heart.

"He would do anything for anybody.

"He would play football with the kids and give them lollies. I know they dearly miss him."

The JustGiving page has so far raised £175 towards the funeral.

Anything raised in excess of £4,000 will go towards a charity that can help families in a similar situation.

To donate visit crowd funding.justgiving.com/Charlie-Birmingham.