It is incredibly hard to find the words to describe what Phil meant to his family. At only 44, he was their rock and protector, but he was also the kindest, funniest, silliest, and most caring person. We cannot begin to imagine life without him; there will be a huge hole in all our lives forever.

He was like a light entering a room – one which you didn’t know you needed. He provided love, support and the best bear hugs to everyone around him, he made everyone feel valued and important.

We will miss his laugh, his unconditional love and truly bad jokes! Not to mention his ridiculous obsession with Derby Football Club and Slipknot!

Phil’s wife, Caroline and his boys were never able to say goodbye, he was there for them unconditionally, and at every opportunity – they were his world, and he theirs.

We cannot underestimate the time that this little family will need to take to grieve and to contemplate how to manage going forward without him. The boys will need a great deal of emotional support from everyone but especially their mum who will need to be around for them in the difficult times ahead. Phil shared so much of the childcare, it will be a really demanding time for the rest of the family juggling life. So please help us to honour him together by donating to this fund.

Caroline will be managing any donations gratefully received and ensuring the boys have everything they need at this time.

We can not thank you enough for all your support and kindness and we have no way of expressing our thanks to you all. No donation is too small and as Phil would say it is the small things that make the big things and so the small things make the world go round.