THE son of a man who died of coronavirus has spoken of his family’s anguish at being unable to hold him during his final days.

Tony Evans, who was in the Navy during the Second World War and ran a greengrocer’s in Bradford for decades on his return, died of Covid-19 earlier this month, aged 94.

Mr Evans, who was born in Baildon, ran a greengrocer’s on Bolton Road and was a referee in three different Bradford football leagues each week for many years from the 1950s.

He was also chairman of the Telegraph & Argus Wild Boar Marathon, which ran in the city for a number of years.

Great-grandad Mr Evans, known to many as John, set up a national youth five-a-side football league, the Daily Express Young Bucks, which saw children compete at the Empire Pool in Wembley.

Tony spent the last 14 months of his life in a care home and was married to Mona, 93, for 73 years, who was by his side when he died on May 1. They have one son, a granddaughter and two great-grandchildren.

His son, Chris Evans, said: “He didn’t have the normal symptoms, he just slept.

“We knew at his age it was going to kill him.”

And he spoke of the anguish caused by the measures in place to stop the spread of coronavirus.

“You can’t hug him, you can’t kiss him and you can’t hold his hand.

“We had to see him through a window.

“He just slipped away in his sleep. It was a hard thing for everybody in our family to go through.

“I don’t think people understand how little people see their loved ones in this situation.

“Not enough has been made about the impact on families It’s terrible.

“He did not deserve this after everything he had done for the communities in Bradford and Great Britain.

“We could only have 10 people at his funeral. Every night, his two great-grandchildren find the biggest star in the sky and say that’s their great-grandad.”

Chris also described his father’s warm personality and the part football played in his life. Wanting to get young people playing football longer during the day in 1962, he helped set up the Bradford Youth Evening Football League.

Chris said: “He had a wicked sense of humour. In one game he refereed, a spectator did not agree with his decision and shouted ‘Get some glasses ref’ to which dad replied ‘I’ll get the glasses if you get the beer’.

“He was one of those people that said if he was going to do something, he would do it properly.

“The night before the boxer Richard Dunn was shown on ‘This is Your Life’ he came into my dad’s shop. Richard whispered to my dad ‘Make sure you watch This is Your Life tomorrow’.

“He was so kind and helpful. I never saw him have an argument. He was considerate. He was so much more than a dad to me, he was more of a friend, a confidant, an adviser.”

Tony also played his part in the Second World War.

As soon as he was old enough he joined the Navy, where he served on H.M.S. Sirius as an anti-aircraft gunner, seeing action in the Med as part of Operation Pedestal – protecting ships providing supplies to Gibraltar ready for the invasion of North Africa.

He then took part in the Operation Torch – the invasion of North Africa – and other actions which included Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. He was discharged in October 1946.

Chris added: “He wanted to fight for king and country in the Second World War. He was underage and ran away to join the Army.

“His mum found out and got him discharged. When he was old enough he joined the Navy during the war.”

Tony’s funeral was held earlier this month but a celebration of his life and a wake will be arranged at a later date for family and friends.