Tammy Morris was said to have been delivering food to picket lines just a week before her sudden death
05:30, 03 Sep 2025Updated 09:40, 03 Sep 2025
Tammy Morris
A Birmingham binman was left heartbroken after the ‘love of his life’ died suddenly at just 36.
Friends were rallying around devastated Steve Morris, who is among refuse workers striking over a long-running jobs dispute with the city council.
His wife Tammy backed the workers and was bringing sandwiches to picket lines just a week before she died last month, a friend said.
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The Yardley couple had been together around 20 years.
“It’s been a complete shock to all of us, we are all absolutely gutted, not just for Tammy but for Steve because he doted on her,” bin loader Maxine Stanley told BirminghamLive.
“She would do anything for anybody. I’m still in shock because she was so young. She was lovely.
“She was only on the line the week before with the dog, she used to put the dog in a high-vis. She came on the Wednesday and the following Wednesday she was gone.
“I couldn’t believe it, she was such a lovely girl. Her and her mum used to bring us bacon sandwiches, they made fresh chicken soup and brought it on the line for us, they didn’t have to but they did, and we thank her for it.”
Mum-of-two Maxine, 54, said she had known Tammy since she was a “little girl” and had known Steve for eight years.
“He’s broken-hearted. Tammy was the love of his life and he was hers,” she added.
“They didn’t have kids so they had dogs, they were her babies. She used to have parties for the dogs for their birthdays, she used to buy them gifts for Christmas.
“It’s really been heart-breaking for Steve, we’re all trying to support him on the line. We know the funeral is the end of the month and it’s costing £7,500 – that’s a lot of money especially when the kid’s on strike.
“She did a lot for the strikers, and for her to go that way, is just devastating, it really is. We’re all going to the funeral to support Steve and thank Tammy for what she did for us.”
The couple’s loved ones launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral and to support Steve. It had raised £1,750 of its £4,000 target as of Tuesday, September 2.
“Donations would mean a lot because being on strike it’s hard, I know the unions are paying us, but by the time you’ve paid bills and outgoings, there’s hardly anything there,” Maxine added.
“Now she’s gone, it’s all for him to do. He’s got to do it all on his own.”
The GoFundMe page asked for any contribution “no matter the size” as they hope to provide practical help while showing “solidarity” with Steve.