Coronavirus has claimed the life of a much loved taxi driver and member of the Sikh community - leaving his family, friends and work colleagues devastated.

Satnam Singh Dhesi, 63, of Gervaise Close, Cippenham had lived in Slough all his life.

A busy taxi driver popular with his colleagues he was also a keen footballer and a regular helper and supporter at the Singh Sabha Football Academy in Slough which had been co-founded by his son Harpreet.

His niece Pavindeep said: "Everyone knew him as Sam. He was a popular person among his taxi co-workers. He was a generous smiling full of life soul who did not let anything bad hurt him

"He would not take anything bad to heart. He would just say 'don't worry, just get on with enjoying life'."

The virus struck suddenly. Mr Dhesi was taken to Wexham Park Hospital by his family after developing a cough and breathing difficulties - he died two weeks later.

He leaves a large family including his mother Amar Kaur Dhesi, his widow Harjeet, sons Harpreet, Gurpreet and Jaspreet and five grandchildren.

The family have set up a JustGiving page to raise money for the intenseive care unit at Wexham Park Hospital, Slough.

His niece Pavindeep said: "We decided to set up a justgiving page in his honour to raise as much money as possible to donate to the intensive care unit at Wexham Park Hospital, to show our appreciation and thank-you for all their hard work looking after him.

"The help and support we received from them was unbelievable and gave us some sort of reassurance that he was in good hands. The compassion and understanding we received from doctors, nurses and feedback team was more than we could have hoped for during these difficult straining times."

The fund has already reached £5,000. Visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/satnam-dhesi to donate.

Mr Dhesi's funeral service is to be held tomorrow Thursday) at Slough Crematorium at 9.30am. His family have arranged for it to be streamed on Zoom so his many friends - restricted by social distancing - can be a part of it.