THE family of a man who died in freezing temperatures have spoken of their horror after his body was found in the same place where his brother perished ten years earlier.

The body of Terry McGann, who had been sleeping rough, was found by a shopper behind Wilkinson's on East Street in Darlington on Friday.

Although his wife and family live in Hercules Street in the town, Mr McGann, who was an alcoholic, had been sleeping rough. It is believed he may have frozen to death.

The body of Mr McGann's younger brother, Gerald, was found in the same place, on a pile of boxes and crates, beneath the NPC car park in 1993. Gerald was known as the Golden Guzzler because of his love of beer in the mid-80s.

One of Terry's sons, Terry junior, said his father had never come to terms with his brother's death. He said: "He really missed Gerry and when he died he said he wanted to go the same way.

"He had always been a drinker but when Gerry died he got worse. I think he would have wanted to die in the same place as his brother. He never recovered from losing Gerry."

One of Mr McGann's other brothers, John, was also found dead in the town in a Milbank Road bedsit.

Terry said: "He was devastated by the loss of his brothers and by the death of his mum and dad."

Like Gerald, Terry had been the Army and served all over the world.

In 2000 he married his fourth wife, Fay Robson, who he had been with for five years. He became step-father to her six children and became her nurse and carer.

She said: "He may have been an alcoholic but he was a good man. He was a loving father to the kids and he worshipped the ground I walked on. I suffer from epilepsy and every morning he would give me my medication, get me washed and dressed.

"He left at night to go out drinking and he always slept rough but on Thursday I told him to come home because it was so cold."

Mr McGann told his family last week that he had suffered a mild heartache and had received hospital treatment but he continued to drink heavily and sleep outside.

But despite his ill health, his family are convinced it was the cold weather on Thursday night that killed him.

A post mortem examination revealed no suspicious circumstances and the coroner was awaiting results of toxicology tests.