TWO heartbroken siblings grieving for their dad have revealed how his tragic death has left them with almost £3,000 of debt.

Ryan and Elaine Maxwell told the Telegraph last week that they felt their father's death from sepsis could have been prevented if a build-up of fluid in his abdomen had been properly treated.

The pair were left devastated when their father passed away at Inverclyde Royal in May after contracting sepsis.

The family's distress grew when they discovered they would have to foot a £2,995 bill for their father's funeral due to a lack of insurance.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, only 20 people could attend Sandy's send off at the Greenock Crematorium and Ryan and Elaine have been unable to afford a headstone for their father.

Ryan said: "He deserved a better send off.

"The service was smaller because of Covid and now we have nowhere to go and remember him.

"The bill is nobody's fault - dad never had health insurance or a funeral plan - but it makes our lives much harder.

"His ashes are still in my house and we're struggling to pay funeral costs.

"I've yet to even begin to mourn his death.

"Dealing what we had to deal with and knowing he could have been saved was bad enough, but now we have thousands of pounds of debt too."

The siblings say they are bracing themselves for a difficult Christmas.

Elaine said: "I was writing the Christmas card list this year and the first name I went to write was dad.

"I had to put it away again, it was too much.

"It's been such a hard loss to deal with."

Ryan says he has struggled to explain Sandy's passing to his four-year-old daughter Aria and had to rely on the support of his partner Jean when he broke the news.

He added: "I would love to be able to afford a headstone for him so I could take Aria and lay flowers for him.

"But right now we have nothing."