Fundraising campaign set up for Gareth Roberts funeral

Gareth Roberts died after an incident at a house in Fulwood - two people were arrested on suspicion of murder — Gareth Roberts died after an incident at a house in Fulwood – two people were arrested on suspicion of murder

Friends and family of a Preston man who died after a fight in Fulwood have begun a fundraising page to help pay for his funeral.

Gareth Roberts was found with serious head injuries at a property in Levensgarth Avenue in Sharoe Green in the early hours of Saturday 13 January. He later died in hospital.

Working at The Sherwood pub in Fulwood he was a well-known face behind the bar and an avid Liverpool FC. He had recently returned from living in Bratislava, Slovakia, for a number of years.

The 36-year-old’s friends have started the JustGiving page as they said ‘he had made no will or plans to cover funeral expenses’.

The page seeks to raise £2,000 and has already achieved more than a quarter of its target.

Gareth’s friend Ben Cooper-Abbs said: “To everyone that knew Gareth, he was a great friend and larger than life character. Sadly and tragically, Gareth was taken away from us recently, he lost his life at the age of 36 and will forever leave a hole in our hearts.

“Gareth was always one to make you laugh and had a wonderfully sarcastic side to him. He was an avid Liverpool FC fan and loved nothing more than getting together with his close group of friends to watch his favourite side play.”

The Sherwood pub’s management have agreed to cover food costs for the wake.

Gareth’s friends Stevie Whalley and Brian Coulton who are helping with the fundraising said: “All monies raised will go directly to the family towards covering the funeral costs, any excess over this amount will be donated to a charity close to Gareth’s families heart.

“Please dig deep guys, something good must come from this tragic loss of our beloved friend.”

You can view and donate on the Justgiving page.

The funeral is being arranged by Gareth’s sister Lucie Maropakis and his brother Darren and is expected to be in the coming weeks.

Fundraiser for Gareth

The Sherwood pub is running a fundraiser on Sunday (4 February) as the fund to help with Gareth’s funeral approaches the £2,000 mark.

Face painting and kids games take place between 1pm-3pm in the afternoon, before the Liverpool game is shown.

Following this from 6pm there’s a bake sale, lip sync battle, chicken wing eating challenge and other activites.

All money raised during the day will go to the funeral.

Funeral details

Gareth’s funeral is to take place at 9.20am on Friday 9 February at the Anfield Crem in Liverpool. Family flowers only. If anyone wants to donate anything they can donate to the Justgiving page or make a donation to St Catherine’s Hospice.

A 37-year-old man from Huddersfield and a 36-year-old woman from Preston, who had been arrested on suspicion of murder, are now bailed pending further enquiries until 11 February.