IT was sad to hear of the recent passing of Liverpool fanatic Stephen Gill, who died aged 56 after a long illness.

A lifelong Red, Stephen was a larger than life character, known and loved by supporters everywhere.

After moving to Folkestone – about as far away from Anfield as possible – he set up the ‘Kent Reds’, rarely missing a game. He won the ECHO’s ‘Fan of the Year’ award in 2007.

City playwright Dave Kirby was a personal friend of Stephen’s and says the Kirkby-born Kopite was in “the top bracket” of Reds.

Kirby said: “In the words of the great Bill Shankly, he was, quite simply, ‘the colossus’.”