A "brilliant" dad died alone in hospital at just 48 after battling illness, depression and addiction .
Neil Gibson suffered a devastating bereavement and became homeless after fighting drug and drink addictions.
"He was strong.
"He had a brilliant childhood, he was great with me as a dad. He idolised me," said Neil's distraught Hayley, 29, said.
Speaking to Manchester Evening News , Hayley said Neil's depression started after the death of his own father, Tony, around 15 years ago.
Neil, who worked in construction, eventually died of the addictions alone in a ward at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
"His dad was his best mate and he went downhill from there," Hayley said.
"He was quite depressed, he had always tended to drink.
"It was like he had an addictive personality. He couldn’t handle things in life, so he’d turn to drink.
"He split up with my mum and he just chose the wrong path. He did have his own flat for a while, but he fell into arrears."
Neil spent time at a hostel in the city centre but that was bought and closed by the council in 2012.
In 2017, the man was kicked out of a notorious guesthouse for something he didn’t do and at that stage drifted out of touch with his family, who up until that point had still seen him fairly regularly.
Hayley continued: "I didn’t hear from him over Christmas or anything. In the March we reported him missing.
"We didn’t know he was on the streets, because if I’d known, I’d have said 'come and live with me'. But by then he just said 'oh I didn't want to put myself on you'."
The grandfather's recent inquest heard he developed cellulitis during the coldest period of 2018.
Cellulitis is a condition linked to injecting drugs.
Neil also contracted Hepatitis A while on the streets, eventually collapsed and was taken to hospital.
Tragically, due to what his family says was an error in the staff handover between intensive care and the ward, nobody called to gather them around his bedside.
He died on his own in a hospital bed on March 24, 2018.
"We’re all gutted he died alone," Hayley continued.
"We were just sad we weren’t there at the time. We didn’t want him to be on his own again.
"He was a good man. I’m just gutted it went that way.
"There’s not enough help and support out there. Everyone thinks ‘oh, these drug addicts,’ but if I had to sleep at night on the streets, I’d start taking something to deal with the pain and the loneliness.
"But to any people who take drugs reading this: get as much help and support you can to get stable and off the drugs.
"I lost my dad because of them and because he was homeless. He would be 50 on Saturday. It’s no age."
