Here's the route for people to stand to pay their respects before the funeral of Kibworth's much-loved 'Fred'

Villagers are preparing to pay a heartwarming final tribute to a homeless man found dead in Kibworth Beauchamp at his funeral on Wednesday (September 30).

People are set to turn out as much-loved local man Stephen Winter, 57, known to everyone as Fred, is laid to rest by his family with his procession wending its way through the village he made his home.

James Bambury, 38, who was a good friend of Fred’s, told the Harborough Mail: “I will definitely be going along with a few of my friends to say a final goodbye to Fred.

“Talking to people here in Kibworth a lot of us feel very much the same way.

“Fred was a one-off salt of the earth bloke and it’s only right that we all give him the send-off he deserves.”

James, who ran The Swan pub in Kibworth Beauchamp for seven years, added: “It’s great to see that Fred will be getting a proper funeral.

“My two little boys loved Fred to bits – we all did.

“He’s going to be a big miss in Kibworth.

“Fred had lived here for years and we all knew him so well.

“So many wonderful flowers, notes and tributes have been left at the bench where he used to sit at Smeeton Road rec.

“It just goes to show that he was such a fantastic character and it’s so sad that he has gone.”

The dad-of-two has raised an astonishing £7,500 after setting up an online fundraising appeal to remember Fred, originally from nearby Fleckney.

“It’s brilliant that we have collected that much.

“An amazing 401 people have chipped in, which tells you how well liked he was,” said James, who now runs The Bull pub at Broughton Astley.

“We are looking at setting up a permanent memorial for Fred – perhaps some sort of children’s play equipment near his favourite bench in the park.

“I’ll discuss it further with his family and villagers after his funeral and decide what to do.

“We have got a very tight-knit community here in Kibworth and people really have rallied around since Fred sadly died.”

Fred’s funeral procession will start outside Smeeton Road Recreation Ground at 12midday on Wednesday and pass through Kibworth by the High Street before moving on to Fleckney.

Jake Williams, Fred’s nephew, has told people hoping to go along on Facebook: “Fred’s family would like to thank everyone for their messages of condolence.

“Unfortunately due to the restrictions of Covid-19, we are very limited on the number of people who can attend the funeral service.

“With this in mind, on Wednesday we are arranging for the funeral procession to begin at Smeeton Road Recreational Ground at 12:00.

“It will then slowly pass through Kibworth via the High Street towards Fleckney Road.

“Following this, the procession will drive through the middle of Fleckney via High Street towards Leicester Road at around 12:20ish.

“If people would like to pay their respects to Fred, feel free to wait along the route as the procession passes by and give him the send off that he deserves.

“Maybe even raise a glass to him if you fancy it, I’m sure he would have liked that!”

Fred was found dead in Smeeton Road Recreation Ground just before 8am on the morning of Sunday September 6.

Police investigating his death said they were treating it as “unexplained” but did not suspect any foul play.