Council pledge on funeral

The funeral of Wolverhampton's ring road tramp will be funded by the city council if any family or friends do not come forward.

A memorial could also be created in Wolverhampton to honour Josef Stawinoga's status in the city, council leader Roger Lawrence has said.

Click here to see Fred's life in pictures.

See also: Fred takes mystery to the grave.

Bosses must now wait several days to see if any relatives of the 87-year-old come forward before they begin planning a service for him.

Councillor Lawrence said there had been an "amazing response" to the announcement of the death of Mr Stawinoga, who was known as Fred. Cards paying tribute to Fred have been left at the city's Ring Road, close to the St John's Retail Park.

One card read: "To Jo, you will always be my Wolverhampton legend", while another said: "Fred. It's a sad day today. Rest In Peace. You will be sadly missed."

One bouquet, tied in a gold and black bow, said: "A gentle character of Wolverhampton who nobody knew but everyone knew of".

A card has also been left at the site with a message written in Polish. Fred's sweeping brush, which he used to sweep leaves away from his tent and the roads nearby, was today still at the site along with one of his tatty coats surrounded by the floral tributes.

Councillor Lawrence said the tributes showed showed how the city took Fred to its heart and how the community and the council helped him live the life he wanted.

"Many years ago some business people asked me to try and remove him as he was "bad for the image" but I think the responses show Wolverhampton as a city that cared and that's a far better image," he said.

"If we want some sort of memorial to remind us then perhaps we should consider that in due course."

Among those paying tribute to Fred was Terry Pilkington, aged 60, from Whitmore Reans. He used to buy him fish and chips when he popped into town to pick his wife up.

"I would go and give them to him, and he never said a word because I don't think he could speak very much English," he said.

"But his eyes told you everything. He didn't speak but I could tell by the way he looked at me he was grateful."