'Life is so hard without my gentle Kevin'

KEVIN TRIPP'S partner Josie James spoke of the devastating impact of his death on their daughter.

"One of the last images my Rianna and I have of Kev is in the hospital on apparatus to keep him alive, bruised, yellow and so very, very cold," she said.

"I had to explain to our five-year-old daughter that daddy was in hospital and to try and get her to visit him. She only made it to his curtains. She talks about daddy having all the wires in him. I was there when they took all the wires away, holding his hands saying that we loved him, and then Kev was gone, but not forgotten. I cannot express how much we miss Kev. That he was able to be such a strong and supportive partner, father and brother despite being affected by ME is testament to his character."

Ms James, who met Mr Tripp on a blind date in 1995, said: "When I look across the room, Kevin isn't there and I find life so hard without him. He only went to the supermarket, he didn't have cancer or a heart attack, he was standing in a queue and a stranger punched him."

In a joint statement Mr Tripp's sisters, Gillian, Laurel and Joan, and brother Derek said: "We do not understand how someone would get so angry over something like queue jumping that they can hit someone and cause their death. That neither has shown signs of remorse means we can never forgive them."