Chris Sievey's family say there's no money for a funeral

More heartbreaking news from Manchester, as Frank Sidebottom's children say they haven't got the money to bury their father properly. The Manchester Evening News reports:

Chris leaves sons Stirling, 31, and Harry, 18, and daughter Asher, 30. Stirling said the family have been in discussion with hospital bereavement officers and a funeral director.

He said: “My father has not left any money behind and we are struggling to try and sort his funeral out. He spent money as it came in and was always a man for the moment. He never planned ahead. We have spoken to a funeral director and the sort of figures that they are talking about are too high.

“We would not know how to go about getting that sort of money at the moment. They said that applying for a pauper's funeral would be an option.

“He would not want us worrying about trying to sort it all out. We would not want our dad to have a pauper's funeral but we would not want something over the top for him too. Just something simple and dignified.”

Radio 2 DJ Mark Radcliffe, who played alongside Chris in the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band in the 1980s, said a pauper's funeral would be a tragedy. He said: “Something needs to be organised to give Chris the send-off that he deserves. It would be tragic for a man who brought so much enjoyment and laughter to the region to have a pauper's funeral.”

After the MEN published the original report, it updated the story to suggest that a campaign is already under way to raise the money needed for a fitting send-off.