The pregnant girlfriend of a man who died while playing football was tagged in a post of condolence about his death on Facebook.
Leah Hayes, 24, tragically lost her partner Jamie Harper on Sunday (September 11). Jamie, 34, from Castleford, died around 1.41pm after he collapsed at a football centre near Kirkstall Road in Leeds.
The Wetherspoons chef had been playing a charity match to raise money for a children's cancer charity. He leaves behind his girlfriend of 10 months Leah, who is expecting their first child together.
Read more: Matthew Fisher's sick Facebook post day before Castleford teacher wife's body was found
Leah, who also has a four-year-old daughter named Evelyn whom Jamie had a strong relationship with, has been left in a state of "shock" and cried for over an hour after finding out about Jamie's death.
Councillor Tom Gordon is Leah's brother and he said "I beg of you" to members of the public to not tag family members of loved ones who have died in social media posts.
The family were left in shock at the way people reacted to the news online. Leah found out the tragic news after her mum read about it on Facebook, with tributes pouring in for the popular 34-year-old.
Leah’s mum rushed to meet her and was able to break the dreadful news in person. But had Leah gone online she had between 40 to 50 people tagging her on Facebook to issue their condolences before she had heard about the news.
"If someone's grieving it is really inappropriate to badger them online," Tom said. In a plea on his Facebook page he added: "I didn’t know Jamie terribly well, but he made my sister happier than anyone else ever had.
"I’ve never heard someone scream and cry with such raw pain as she did on Sunday. It will haunt me for the rest of my life.
"I’m just thankful that my mum and I got to her to tell her in person, and she didn’t find via Facebook out on her own at home. So please, I beg you, think before you post."
Tom said he was relieved that they had been able to speak to his sister first before she opened her phone.
Leah says she will always remember Jamie for how kind and good natured he was to her and Evelyn. Leah said: “He’d help anyone that he could. He listened to me and he cared for my daughter and I’ve not had that before.
“I’ve not had someone nice in my life before. He was interested in what I had to say and all he wanted was a family. He was so happy to fill that role in my life."
Breaking into tears, she added: "He was the love of my life and he was going to be a dad. He’d just moved in. He was like a dad to my daughter, she’d started calling him dad.
"He kept saying he was so happy and so excited to become a dad. He was so excited, he’d wanted kids for ages.
"He was going to get the baby Castleford Tigers outfits, football shirts and god knows what else. He was an amazing dad to my daughter, the best dad she ever had. Having Jamie was a big part of her life."
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