A Covid denier who refused to wear a face mask and continually met up with friends despite the pandemic has died after contracting the virus himself.
Gary Matthews tested positive a day before he passed away on January 13, less than a week after developing symptoms.
The 46-year-old was a regular contributor to conspiracy theory forums and felt he needed to defy the Government, believing the bug was a hoax, according to his cousin.
Mr Matthews, a keen painter from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, is understood to have claimed he suffered from asthma before he died, though his family were unaware he had the condition.
Cousin Tristan Copeland said his relative refused to adhere to social distancing guidelines and had developed a strong distrust of the media.
"He and his friends had the mindset that they needed to go out and meet people to show they didn’t believe the government," Mr Copeland told The Guardian.
He believes his cousin was "led astray" by conspiracy groups online in the months before his death.
"About two or three years ago he became very concerned about the conflict in Syria from a humanitarian point of view.
"I think he read a few stories which led him to distrust the media. Eventually that led him to some climate change denial groups which he started posting on."
However, Mr Copeland remembers Mr Matthews as a kind and talented man who loved painting portraits, with his death "heartbreaking" for the family who were "all very close".
A further 1,058 people have died of Covid-19 in UK hospitals.
In English hospitals 907 people lost their lives, 82 died in Scotland, 56 in Wales and 13 in Northern Ireland.
Yesterday a further 1,130 people died in UK hospitals from Covid-19, while 945 lost their lives last Thursday and 1,018 the Thursday before that.
The record daily increase for hospital deaths is 1,185, which was set on January 20.
