Tragic death of pregnant Birkenhead woman and baby sparks outpouring of support
41-year-old Diane Judge was pregnant with her fourth child when they both passed away suddenly last week.
Tributes are being paid to the pregnant partner of a well-respected Tranmere Rovers steward who died suddenly, along with her baby, last week.
41-year-old Diane Judge was expecting her fourth child when she was unexpectedly taken ill in the early hours of 11th January.
Her partner Kevin Durant, 35, is a match day car park steward at Prenton Park and the club has now started an online fundraising page to help support the family.
Tranmere Rovers Vice Chair Nicola Palios said, "Kevin is very well known within the club, he's the first face you see when you enter the carpark. So many people have said what a gentle and lovely man he is and it's been a tremendous shock to everybody, so we really just want to show him some love and support."
Nicola said the full details regarding the circumstances of Diane's death remain unknown, "It was a very sudden passing. The cause of death hasn't been confirmed but I am aware that Diane woke in the middle of the night, struggling to breathe.
"An ambulance was called but sadly she was pronounced dead on arrival at Arrowe Park Hospital, despite the best attempts of everybody involved to resuscitate her. It was very much out of the blue and a complete shock to everybody.
"The fundraiser is just about Kevin knowing that he has the love and support of a big community of people around him. It's a way of people demonstrating that they're there and they care about him. But obviously, there's the much more practical, financial support because funerals are very expensive.
"He's now the sole carer of three young children and that's very expensive at any time, but we would like to give him the ability to spend some time with his kids rather than worrying about rushing straight back out to work. There's a lot of people here for him and supporting him.