A popular fruit and veg delivery man died on his way to hospital on Christmas Day after his family were warned there would be a 50-minute wait for an ambulance.
Bruce Barnes's family put him in their car to take him to hospital after he was taken ill, complaining of shoulder pains, after returning from a walk with his brother. But when they arrived at the hospital, he was unresponsive and paramedics' attempts to revive him with CPR failed.
As his funeral took place on Friday (February 3) at Grenoside Crematorium in Sheffield, his loved ones and the community he served in the north of the city paid tribute to Bruce, who was just 53 when he died. And his wife Jenny recalled how a happy Christmas that began with the couple and their children, Rosie, 14, and William, 12, opening their presents along with Bruce's younger brother Daniel, turned to tragedy.
Jenny told YorkshireLive: "Bruce went out for a walk with Daniel and when he came back I said to him, 'You don't look too good.' I said to him I was calling 111 because he was talking about pain in his shoulder and along his left side.
"They told me to ring 999 and I was told an ambulance was going to be dispatched but it would be 50 minutes. Bruce was really looking bad by this stage so we decided to get him in the car and drive him to hospital ourselves.
"We think he must have died during the drive over. The paramedics waiting at the hospital performed CPR in the car but they couldn't bring him back. All the staff at the hospital were brilliant with us though."
Bruce had been delivering produce since his childhood, heading out on rounds during weekends and school holidays with his dad Tom from the family farm. While Tom stuck to the egg trade, Bruce expanded the business to fruit and veg.
Already a well-known fixture in his local area, it was during the pandemic that Bruce really came into his own. Classed as a key worker, he continued to head out on his rounds, bringing essentials to the housebound and offering a friendly face to those isolated in their homes.
He worked long hours throughout this period, often out of the house until after 10pm, and many of his new customers stayed with him after the pandemic restrictions were lifted.
Jenny described Bruce as a wonderful father to both his children, saying he was immensely proud of them. She added she was looking back at a life full of love and laughter for them both.
On a GoFundMe page set up to help Jenny and the family in Bruce's memory, organiser Keira Yeoman reported after the funeral that the crematorium had been packed out by those wishing to pay their tributes to him. She wrote: "As expected, Bruce’s funeral was an amazing turnout and so full that not everyone fitted in."
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