More than £6,000 has been donated to help pay for the funeral of a dad who was found dead on a barge in Wigan after a fire on Christmas Day.

Firefighters rushed to Crooke marina, just off the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, when the blaze broke out at around 3.30am on December 25.

They spent 13 hours there, but it was confirmed a man and his service dog had died.

Now, the man has been named as Gabriel Murphy, who was also known as Philip, by his daughter Juliette Murphy.

placeholder image — Gabriel Murphy and his dog Hugo

She said he had served in the army and was later supported with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by his dog Hugo.

Juliette, 23, has now created an online fund-raising appeal to help cover the cost of her dad’s funeral.

On the fund-raising page, she wrote: “After leaving the forces my dad continued serving others as a paramedic in NWAS. Helping people is who he was, even though life was hard for him, he was gentle and carried more pain than he ever showed.

"The fire took everything. There are no belongings left from the boat and no memories we can hold onto physically. Because my dad was still so young, there was no life insurance or funeral plan in place.”

She said Hugo also died and his body was cremated, but he could not be laid to rest with Mr Murphy as a charity had discarded the ashes in a “heartbreaking mistake”.

More than 250 donations have been made to the online appeal so far, with £6,685 raised towards the £8,000 target.

Miss Murphy continued: “Losing my dad was devastating and losing the chance to honour the bond between him and Hugo was been a second tragedy our family is struggling to come to terms with.

“This fund-raiser is giving me the opportunity to give my dad a beautiful and respectful farewell surrounded by the people who loved him and is helping me to begin rebuilding my life after such a sudden and traumatic loss. Any donations will go towards funeral costs and practical support as I try to find some stability while carrying this grief.”

A funeral will be held at 2pm on Friday, January 23 at Wigan Crematorium.

Donations to the appeal can still be made at www.gofundme.com/f/gabriel-and-hugo.