Tributes paid to much-loved Big Issue vendor after tragic death: ‘He would always help everybody’

A popular Big Issue vendor’s pitch was filled with flowers and cards in tribute following his death last month.

Neil Smith, 56, died last month from sepsis after spending 17 years selling the magazine outside Waitrose on Holloway Road in Islington, North London.

Smith became a familiar sight selling the magazine in the mornings on the pitch alongside his dog Honey, sharing with fellow Big Issue vendor Tamara Putzu taking over in the afternoon.

Putzu called the ambulance when Smith fell unwell last month before he sadly died. She has now taken on Honey in his memory.

“After Covid my life unravel before my eyes, I lost my job, my flat, my relationship of 22 years and Neil was the one who was there to pick up the pieces,” said Putzu, who has urged Smith’s customers to support the WG Miller funeral directors in Islington, who are arranging the late vendor’s funeral.

“He introduced me to the Big Issue, he even bought me magazines at the beginning and let me work on his pitch.

“Every day we used to see each other at his pitch, moan about life and then, around 2pm he used to go home and I used to start work at the pitch for the rest of the day. 

“Neil was well known and when people see me with Honey they ask where Neil is. I have to give the horrible news that he passed away and they are genuinely in shock, most of them are in tears. He was kind and would always help everybody.”

Jerri Corbett, an outreach worker for Big Issue, said Smith was “a gentle soul”.

She added: “Seventeen years is a long old time, you become part of the community. It works both ways.

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“I always think about the vendors, but it’s also the place in the community’s heart that the vendor has as well.

“It’s a two-way relationship. Neil might be the only person some of these guys might speak to during the day. Everyone loved him.”

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