The family of the Westminster terror attack’s oldest victim, Leslie Rhodes, have led tributes to the retired window cleaner ahead of his funeral later today.
Mr Rhodes, 75, was killed on March 22 this year after being hit by a car driven by Khalid Masood while walking over Westminster Bridge.
Mr Rhodes, who had been attending an appointment at St Thomas’ Hospital just before the attack, was rushed to King’s College Hospital with broken ribs and a punctured lung, but his life support was turned off at 8.25pm that day.
Mr Rhodes, 75, died on March 22
“[Leslie] would love today, everyone coming out to say goodbye. It shows how many people liked him,” said Carol Carney, Mr Rhodes’ sister-in-law.
“He was like a surrogate father to my four little girls. He was a very liked person.”
Mr Rhodes, who lived in south London all his life with his parents and had no children of his own, previously worked as a window cleaner and decorator, with a previous client including Winston Churchill.
Flowers laid in tribute to Mr Rhodes outside his Clapham home
Carol said: “He was very good with his clients.
“If they ever couldn’t afford to pay him, he would tell them not to worry about it and just buy him a drink sometime.
“If any of his neighbours were coming up with shopping, he would shout down offering to help. They thought the world of him. He was never lonely.”
Part of Mr Rhodes’s memorial will include a tribute bench on Clapham Common, his favourite spot to go fishing, which will be unveiled later today.
When asked about whether she has any anger towards the attacker, Carol said: “I think he got away lightly by being shot by the police.
“I wish he went to prison for life. But it’s just one of those things. Leslie was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The funeral is taking place at North East Surrey Crematorium in Morden at 4pm today.
