Northampton rallies to pay for homeless man's funeral

George Murray died in hospital in September and lived in Northampton for more than 15 years

More than £6,000 has been raised to help pay for the funeral of a former homeless man.

George Murray, 51, who lived on the streets of Northampton for about 15 years, died on 21 September.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend a celebration of his life on the town's Market Square on 6 November.

Stan Robertson, from the homelessness charity Project 16:15, said he had been overwhelmed by the donations for a true "gentleman".

He said a Facebook group created to remember Mr Murray had about 1,700 followers and more than 300 people had donated towards his funeral costs.

George Murray moved into a flat in Northampton in 2020

Mr Robertson, who will conduct the multi-faith service, said: "It's been absolutely overwhelming; it's just an awesome thing to see everyone coming together and sharing their tributes and their memories.

"It's hard to keep up with all the comments."

Mr Murray, 51, who died in hospital, had moved into a flat in the town in 2020 during the coronavirus lockdowns, after living on the streets for more than a decade.

Mr Robertson said the charity had tracked down his next-of-kin in Scotland and it had been working closely with them and his friends on the memorial.

From 10:30 BST a lone piper will lead the hearse from Mark Elliott Funeral Service on St Giles Street and the procession will move via Abington Street to the Market Square for a 11:00 service.

Other homeless people will take part, read poems, and share stories, Mr Robertson added.

A crematorium service will take place later in the afternoon.

"George was liked by the community. People saw the gentleman in him," Mr Robertson said.

"He was old school in the manner he spoke to people.

"I just found him to be a really nice guy, someone you could sit down with and have a good chat."