TRIBUTES have been paid to a popular doorman who has died at the age of 28.

Leon Nortey, a well-respected bouncer from Southampton, was found dead at his home in the Polygon last week.

The former Southampton Solent University student worked at venues across Southampton including Tokyo, Buddha, CoCo Bar and Lounge and Oceana, as well as other clubs along the south coast and in London.

Friends have rallied round to raise funds for the family.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by Krystal Benjamin and in less than three days it has raised more than £2,000.

On the page, Krystal said: “As most of you will by now have heard, today we lost a truly amazing, kind hearted, happy and loving young man.

“Leon was a great man that I know will have helped each and every one of us at some stage in our friendship, even it was just one of those infamous smiles that would brighten anyone’s day.”

All the friends, co-workers and managers of where Leon worked described him as “caring” and a “great contributor to charity”.

In a joint tribute, they said: “We shouldn’t be distraught we should be celebrating his life. No one has a bad word to say about him. Nothing but love for him. He leaves that legacy behind.

“The best charity you can give is a smile and in that case Nortey has given so much in form of charity because he was always smiling, so let’s celebrate his life and not be distraught. Not only was he forever smiling he was a great contributor to charity; he cycled from Southampton to Scotland for Macmillan Cancer.

“Nortey’s cheeky smile and protective spirit will greatly be missed as he has left a hole in all our hearts but will never be forgotten.”

Two memorial pages on Facebook called ‘Nortey by Nature’ and ‘Leon Nortey Memorial’ have also been set up for friends to share a special memory and keep up to date with the fundraiser events over the next few weeks that will help towards his funeral costs.