RESIDENTS are rallying in a bid to fund a funeral for a homeless man who died on Sunday.

Chris Conlin was taken to hospital after falling ill outside the William Hill betting shop on Bradshawgate in Leigh.

Doctors were unable to save him and residents have set up two crowdfunding pages to raise money for his funeral.

Emily Johnson and Stephanie Seddon have set up GoFundMe pages with £3,000 and £2,000 targets respectively.

Stephanie says Chris, who was also known as Bower, ended up living on the streets after being grief-stricken following the death of his mum and brother.

“Chris was homeless and on our streets in Leigh in the freezing cold through no fault of his own, with grief and tragedy having shaken his family,” Stephanie said.

“Everyone should at least have people who care and love in their life.

“No homeless person should feel alone.

“So please everyone, while you are in your beautiful homes and warm have a heart and donate to look after one of our own.

“Please let something good come from the loss of Chris’ life and give comfort to a broken family.”

She added that all donations will either be used to pay for Chris’ funeral or be given to a charity that helps homeless people.

Emily said: “As a community we are aiming to all come together to raise money for a proper send-off for Chris and to raise awareness of homelessness in the UK.

“The only family he had was a brother, who is also unfortunately homeless, and a father and cousin.”

Tributes have poured in for Chris.

Kyle Barnes, from Leigh, says he was ‘a really nice and warm-hearted man who always had time to talk to people’.

He added: "I bought food for him and his dog but he did not want any for himself

“Chris just wanted to feed his dog."

“He was heartbroken because he had no food for his dog and thought he was going to lose him.”

Greater Manchester Police say there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Chris’ death and have passed a file to the coroner's office.

To donate visit bit.ly/2Ao9GvA or bit.ly/2iBcPQF.