KEITH Manners has passed away following a stroke, at the age of 50, after a battle with mental health issues, and illness.

The former St George’s School pupil, was a dearly-loved son and stepson of Hazel and Keith Welsh, who live in Holgate, and Dave and Sue Manners of Clifton. He was also a much-loved brother of Christopher (deceased), stepbrother of Michael, Richard, Kathryn and Jon, and a very dear grandson.

Keith, who lived in Fossway, particularly enjoyed the practical subjects such as woodwork and metalwork at school, and also became very knowledgeable in the use of computers, before leaving at the age of 16.

He then worked for various retailers, including Victoria House and Barnitts, where he enjoyed helping the customers.

In his last job, Keith trained as a shoe repairer and became very skilled and was proud of the quality of his work.

Mother, Hazel, 73, said: “Keith suffered years of mental health challenges, spent long periods in hospital and became unable to work. He also battled with alcohol dependency over the years and, as this got worse, he lost contact with most of his friends.

“Keith volunteered to help at the Salvation Army in Gillygate until they moved their premises and enjoyed working with people who didn’t judge him and were patient, helpful, friendly and caring to him.Being in this safe environment helped Keith to feel useful and his mental health became more stable,” added Hazel.

“He enjoyed reading and had books on every subject. Keith’s particular interests were in history, nature and science. He was very knowledgeable and had an enquiring mind. He repaired different electronic items including computers.”

Keith’s hobbies also included metal detecting, and his best find was a gold Richard III boar badge, which he declared to the Treasury and is now displayed in the Yorkshire Museum. He enjoyed creative writing which he found helped him to put his thoughts, mood and fears down on paper.

Music was also very important to Keith and he could name a tune for every topic of conversation. His recall of lyrics, tunes and artists was amazing. He liked strumming on his guitar and composing tunes, he found this very relaxing.

“Keith became physically and mentally unwell in December 2018 when he had developed cellulitis, septicaemia, pneumonia, low blood pressure and hypothermia. He spent three months in hospital, then was transferred to a mental health unit. From there he was admitted to a rehabilitation hospital where he remained until the beginning of March 2020.

“When he was discharged, he was in the best mental health he had been in for years. But, unfortunately, two weeks after coming home, we went into lockdown and, as a clinically vulnerable person, he was asked to shield and his family also were shielding for medical reasons.

“Keith kept in touch with his family and his loyal friend Geoff daily by phone but found the lack of person to person contact very difficult. His mental health deteriorated gradually as the lockdown carried on.

“As his mother I feel there is a big gap in the provision of mental health care in our country,” added Hazel.

“And last but not least, we would like to add how caring, understanding and supportive Hayley and her mum Julie, of Hayley Darley Funeral Services, have been to us. Nothing has been too much trouble. Also their detailed care of our son Keith has brought us some comfort at this sad time.”

Keith passed away in York Hospital on February 5 following a major stroke. The family would like to express their grateful thanks to the NHS staff in A&E and ICU for their amazing care.