A care worker who died after contracting coronavirus had revealed he had the disease in a tweet, adding: "Even in full PPE it still got me."

Colleagues have paid tribute to Malcolm Erridge, 58, who died last Saturday.

He worked for the Martha Trust in Hacklinge near Deal.

In his last tweets he said he believed he caught it from a client despite being dressed in protective gear.

The charity's deputy chief executive Julie Gayler told KentOnline: "It was with great sadness that we learned on Saturday evening that one of our team, Malcolm Erridge, had passed away at home.

"Malcolm was a dedicated support worker, who worked tirelessly to give Martha residents a happy and fulfilling life. He will be sadly missed by all his friends here, staff and residents alike.

"It is indeed very, very sad times and the staff are devastated upon hearing of Malcolm’s passing."

Mr Erridge had worked for the charity, which supports people with profound physical and multiple learning disabilities, since April 23, 2019.

On January 11, he tweeted: "Oh well, managed to keep Covid away in 2020 but it got me in 2021."

One friend on Twitter asked him how he got it and he replied: "I caught it off a client at work, even in full PPE (personal protective equipment) it still got me."

He said the same to another follower who had commented that there were "so many visitors from out of our area".

He said: "Don't think it's their fault, I caught it off a client at work."

These messages were also on January 11 along with one by him saying: "Thanks everyone for your kind words...my worse (sic) day was Sunday (January 10) temp 38.2 and one of the worse (sic) headaches I've ever had. Don't want to feel much worse than that if I can help it."

Ms Gayler said: "Out of respect for Malcolm, his family and friends we cannot be involved in any speculation about what the cause of death was.”

Martha Trust says it has followed Public Health England PPE and testing guidelines throughout the pandemic.

The charity has two neighbouring homes in Hacklinge, Martha House and Frances House, in Homemead Lane.

Mr Erridge, whose Twitter account was Malc @SeaWatcher_Deal, described himself as a birdwatcher for more than 45 years.

He had 655 followers and said sea-watching off Deal seafront was his main love.

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