My gladiator lay down his shield & gained his wings

Dad’s tribute to tragic tot

TRAGIC tot Alfie Evans fought to the very end yesterday as his dad desperately tried to save the son he later hailed a “gladiator”.

Tom Evans spent 10 agonising minutes giving the toddler mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in a final bid to keep the terminally ill youngster alive.

A relative revealed: “He was blowing and blowing and blowing.” But in the end it wasn’t enough to save Alfie.

Tom and the little boy’s mum, Kate James, cradled the 23-month-old in their arms as he passed away at 2.30am.

After spending a few last precious hours with the little boy, Tom described his pride for his son in a poignant message on Facebook. He wrote: “My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings... absolutely heartbroken.”

Distraught Kate, 20, added: “Our baby boy grew his wings tonight at 2.30am.

“We are heartbroken. Thank you everyone for your support.”

Describing Alfie’s last few hours at Liverpool’s Alder Hey hospital, the relative said: “It had been a really hard day because Alfie had been struggling to breathe from early morning. He picked up and we thought that everything was going to be OK.

“But at about 1.30am we got a call telling us to get back to the hospital.”

It was then that Tom, 21, tried to resuscitate his little boy before realising there was nothing more he could do.

The devastated dad revealed last week that he had saved his son’s life several times when he had stopped breathing.

Alfie, who had been suffering from a degenerative brain disease, had survived for five days after being taken off life support.

His parents lost a number of legal battles in a bid to get their son treatment abroad and were in talks with hospital bosses about taking Alfie home. The lad’s plight touched hearts around the world. Hundreds of thousands of people signed up to social media sites dedicated to Alfie’s Army – the group which supported his parents.

Yesterday more than 1,500 people gathered in a park next to the hospital to say their last goodbyes.

They counted down from ten, chanted Alfie’s name and released thousands of balloons in purple and blue, the colours adopted by Alfie’s Army.

Tom and Kate were too upset to attend, but Tom’s tearful sister Sarah told the crowd: “I want to thank you all for coming today. You have lit up the sky

“Our gorgeous little warrior took his last breath at 2.30 this morning.

“Alfie, God has set you free and now you are allowed to go. Our hearts are broken. We are absolutely shattered as a family. Thomas just wants to thank you all for the support you’ve all shown.”

Last night Pope Francis, who had an audience with Tom, led tributes to Alfie. He tweeted: “I am deeply moved by the death of little Alfie. Today I pray especially for his parents, as God the Father receives him in his tender embrace.” Everton football club wrote: “RIP Alfie Evans. Everybody at the Club is deeply saddened by the loss of the brave young Evertonian.”

MEP Steven Wolfe, who campaigned on behalf of the family, said: “I am devastated by the passing of little Alfie, who has been a fighter throughout.”

And Gemma Lowery, mother of another brave youngster, also paid tribute. Her son Bradley died in July, aged six, after losing his battle with childhood cancer neuroblastoma. In a message to Alfie on Facebook, Gemma wrote: “RIP sweetheart, fly high with them angels and go have some fun with my baby boy.”