THE family of a man who died after collapsing in Birchwood Shopping Centre have thanked passersby who rushed to help him.

Popular 76-year-old Ernie Wilson, who was known as ‘granddad’, suffered a heart attack at the Planet Cafe on Saturday at around 4pm. Thanks to the quick-thinking staff, security guards and an off-duty nurse, Ernie was resuscitated and taken to hospital.

Sadly he suffered a further three heart attacks but his daughter, Karen Mcfarlane, said that if it was not for the help of people at the shopping centre she would have never got the chance to say a final goodbye.

Karen said: “People acted so quickly. We went into the café on Sunday as a family to say thank you. We would like to thank the nurse who did CPR on dad personally if she would get in contact with us. We want to say a massive thank you to the people of Birchwood Shopping Centre.”

Former scaffolder and window cleaner Ernie, who lived in Birchwood, was surrounded by his three children and four of his seven grandchildren when he passed away at Broadgreen Hospital.

Karen said: “He was stubborn until the end, he was tough. Everybody knew him as granddad because my son used to work in dad’s local, The Quarterdeck, and used to call him granddad when he went in, so everybody adopted that name for him.

“He was a stubborn monkey sometimes. My mum’s nickname for him was ‘you red-headed bleeder’, because he was a red-head when he was younger. He just used to laugh at it and take it in his stride.

“I remember once he fell through the garage roof and we all rushed in because we’d just seen him fall from outside – and he was just sat on him bum laughing his head off.

“He always used to take us camping as kids and we loved that.

“He was very kind, he would do anybody a favour.”

Ernie lost his wife, Joan, to cancer in 2005 and Karen added: “He’s back with my mum now and we’re all taking comfort from that.

“He’s with the love of his life, because that’s exactly what she was.”

The funeral will take place on October 13 at 1pm at Walton Crematorium.

The procession will leave Patterson Close at 12.15pm and pass the Nelson's Quarterdeck pub before making its way to the crematorium.