A COMMUNITY moved by the plight of a man who died penniless and with no family to arrange his funeral has raised more than £2,000 in three days to pay for a send-off.

People in Northallerton have dug deep over the last few days to make sure Andrew Shield will receive a proper funeral, after one of his former school friends, Sarah Widdowson, discovered there was no-one to organise a dignified farewell for him.

Mr Shield, 38, died recently of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He had been a well-known and well-liked character around Northallerton’s pubs, bars and elsewhere in the town.

Ms Widdowson said Mr Shield had lost both his parents as a child.

Tragically, his mother, who worked at the town’s library, died when he was seven-years-old. Two years later, Andrew’s father, a surveyor at Hambleton District Council, also passed away. An only child, he went to live with his grandmother, but tragedy struck again and she passed away while he was at secondary school.

Despite his sad childhood, his friend, Sarah Widdowson said Andrew, known locally as “Ruggy” was well-known for always having a smile on his face.

“I remember at primary school we had an assembly because his parents had died, to tell us to go easy on him. Then at secondary school his granny died. He hadn’t had a great life," she said.

“But he never ever moaned or let his circumstances change him or make him bitter. He was an avid fundraiser and was always in fancy dress fundraising for something.”

She visited a funeral directors with another friend, Mark Walker, a partner in a financial firm in Northallerton, and they discovered more than £2,000 was needed for a simple funeral.

Ms Widdowson said she would find the money, underwrote the funeral and then began raising the funds, setting up a JustGiving page and setting up collection boxes in some of the town’s pubs.

“Everyone deserves a funeral and really deserves to go out how they wanted to,” she said.

She was amazed at the generosity of people in the town. The appeal has already exceeded its £2,000 target and it is hoped there will now also be enough extra money to buy a headstone. Northallerton Working Men’s Club came forward to offer to provide food after the funeral.

Andrew Shield’s funeral will take place at All Saint’s Church, Northallerton at 12.15pm on July 3. A funeral procession will make its way from the Applegarth roundabout to the church.

Ms Widdowson, from Northallerton, said: “It would be good to get a crowd to line the North End of the High Street to see him off.

“I want to try and make it a little bit special for him. I think we’ll get a good turn-out; it’s just devastating he can’t see how many people cared for him.”