Tributes have been paid to a well-known York cycle courier and campaigner who has died suddenly.
Ethan Bradley died at his home on Pottery Lane last Wednesday (24 November). He was discovered by his flat mate.
The exact cause of Ethan’s death has not yet been established, but it may have been as a result of complications after a cycling accident he suffered just over a week earlier.
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The accident happened near the railway station. He was wearing a helmet, but banged his head.
Ethan went to hospital but seemed to have fully recovered and had been back working before the shocking news of his death.
Ethan was well known in York. He was a courier who delivered food to countless homes in the city as a key worker throughout the pandemic lockdown.
And as a chair of the couriers section of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) he spearheaded campaigns for his fellow workers’ pay, rights and conditions.
His friends have launched a fundraising campaign to pay for his funeral. Organiser Holly Parker said: “Ethan was a guy who had so much to give others, we wanted to return the favour and give something back to him.
“Ethan was well loved and will be missed by so many, he was the life of the party. It only feels right for him to have the send off he truly deserves.”
You can donate via the GoFundMe page here.
Community in shock
Fellow York courier Diane Williams told YorkMix what a wonderful person Ethan was.
“He was kind, polite, courteous, happy to help anybody. Just just a generally nice young man,” she said.
His death had left the tight-knit courier community in shock, she said.
And she hoped more people would help with the fundraising campaign. “All through the lockdown, when everybody was off the streets, we all carried on working.
“And Ethan was out as well. Given everything we did during lockdown, I think it would be nice if people could pay him back.”
During lockdown, Ethan was one of the couriers who was issued with a fixed penalty notice for riding through the York footstreets – even though they were told that restrictions on cycling had been temporarily lifted.
And his work as a courier journalist has been nominated for a British Journalism Award. Ethan worked with the Mirror, ITV and others to investigate Deliveroo pay.
He was due to attend the award ceremony next week. Friends are organising for a photograph of Ethan to be displayed at the event.