THE mother of a woman who died from Covid-19 has made a plea to people to abide by the regulations and spoke of how she does not want her daughter's death to be in vain.

Sonia Partridge, 35, from Stockton died in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Sonia and her partner Kerry Ann had 13 children.

In a touching tribute, Sonia's mother, Jacquie Herron, made a plea to people to "never naively think you are safe".

Jacquie said: "I was with my daughter when she sadly passed away. Her life was taken by the terrible horror of Covid.

"Sonia was a beautiful person, with a gorgeous smile and soul. She was always thinking of others, even though she was poorly with underlying issues, she rarely complained.

"It's absolutely devastating for us all, her children, her wife, her sister, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends are all left in incomprehensible grief and disbelief."

Jacquie continued: "It's indescribable how hard it was to be with her, watching her fight so hard and bravely for every breath. The staff at North Tees hospital are amazing, they helped Sonia be as comfortable as possible.

"The doctors and nurses have an extremely tough job.

"Making awful decisions of who will or won't survive.

"Unfortunately the ventilator treatment wouldn't have saved Sonia, and they had to make that decision not to put her on the equipment.

"I was with Sonia in hospital holding her hand on three major milestones in her life.

"When she was born, when she gave birth to her first daughter and when she was taken.

"She left this world after making the brave decision to remove her mask, in the knowledge that she was loved.

"But should be here in life to still be able to receive that love from us all.

"I would like to make a plea to the world, abide by the rules do not risk your own life, or that of others.

"Never naively think you are safe, Sonia was housebound, and was shielding, the virus still managed to take her from us.

"The government does have the responsibility of looking after the general public, but it is up to each individual to be responsible for their behaviour and life.

"I made the conscious decision to remove my PPE masks when Sonia removed hers, a selfless act, and I was fully aware of the dangers of doing so.

"I wanted Sonia to pass gazing into each other's eyes, with the vision of my face in comfort. Not distressed seeing a mask.

"Boris Johnson and the government cannot in my opinion be blamed for the people who will or do not take responsibility for their own actions.

"It's time the public were made to realise this, and stop the petty ignorant squabbling, blaming others for their irresponsibility.

"In Sonia's memory make this be a lesson to be learned by the world, you have one life, respect it, respect yourself and respect others.

"Sonia was bullied and mocked about her size, food became Sonias vice after a traumatic experience at the age of 10, she turned to food for comfort, the ignorance and cruelty of peoples comments and stares made her eat more, she would feel down, and the cycle continued. 

"People judged her by her size, instead of the kind, caring person she was.

"Her heart, kindness and loving, caring, giving, personality was much bigger than her visual size.

"Beauty comes from within, in this instance she was absolutely stunning."