Tributes to postmaster Musa Patel who has died of coronavirus

Musa Patel, who ran the Bradshaw Post Office in Lea Gate for over a decade, was admitted to hospital two weeks ago and was receiving treatment in intensive care due to coronavirus.

But this week friends confirmed the heartbreaking news that Musa lost his battle with coronavirus on Monday.

Matthew Jones, managing director at the Purple Property Shop estate agents, grew close to Musa’s family after fundraising for him after the post office was targeted by burglars in 2015.

He visited the family on many occasions outside his house during lockdown and was devastated to learn of Musa’s passing from his wife, Ayesha, on Tuesday morning.

He said: “The stand out thing for me is that Musa always had a smile on his face and always went out of his way to help people.

“He fought against the post office closing because he knew how much it meant to the local people and it was a shame when he had to retire early

“When I first only knew him as a customer of his post office it was striking how helpful he was so it was such a shame when they suffered the burglary.

“We raised money to support him but he said he couldn’t take it so donated it, plus his own funds, to Bolton Hospice instead and since then we’ve been really close friends.

“When I visited him recently he’d taken some vulnerable adults into his house to look after which he described as his privilege which is him all over, nothing was a problem for him, he did these things because he wanted to.

“He lived a very modest life but he gave so much to the community.

“You would never not see him laughing or joking.

“It’s so sad that he’s gone and it’s just the tragedy of this year really, I just feel so sorry for the family.”

One local resident and close family friend of Musa’s, Jean Prendergast, said he would be sorely missed by all in the community.

She said: “My husband and I were good friends of Musa and his family. His wife Ayesha rang me only an hour after he had passed away. Musa was one of the most kindest, thoughtful and helpful person that I have ever met. He will be sadly missed by all the community.

“You can see how well loved he was by the thousand plus messages of sympathy. He deserves a plaque outside the post office for people to remember him by, I think that would be a fitting tribute to him.”

Ali Imteyaz, an executive member at Bolton Council of Mosques, said: “Musa was a warm, caring and considerate man who lived his life with a smile.

“He was a very humble character and would always go out of his way to help anybody. He was a great man in his community always putting them first, he will be a big loss.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Musa’s family and if there is anything we can do we will help in any way we can.”

Bradshaw councillor Mudasir Dean said: “He is definitely someone who will be sorely missed, people have been so kind with their tributes to him, he was such a caring person in the community through the post office really going out of his way to help anyone.

“Whoever he dealt with, he always had a smile on his face even when the post office was going through difficult times.

“Everyone in the community will be thinking of his family.”