Tributes have been paid to a “husband, father, son and irreplaceable friend” who worked from the Holloway Bus Garage and died with Covid-19.

Win Tin Soe, 61, who drove the number 46 bus for 18 years, died with coronavirus at St Mary’s Hospital on Friday last week.

He is the second bus driver from the garage to die with the virus, after Emeka Nyack Ihenacho, 36, was lost to Covid-19 earlier this month.

Win Tin Soe, 61, who lived in Paddington, was a type two diabetic who suffered from heart problems.

His daughter Theai San, an NHS dental nurse, told this paper: “He loved his job. He was a very dedicated family man as well as a hard-working fellow. He was so respected in the community and helped everyone.

“He was a man of few words but his actions defined him, and everybody loved and respected him for that. He was a loving husband to my mum, a provider. People adored him. He was an immigrant who came here – a village boy from Burma – he struggled to get everything.”

Theai and her sister May and mother Min couldn’t visit him in hospital due to rules intended to stop the spread of the virus. Theai added: “It’s just really sad we couldn’t be with him in his final minutes.”

At least 26 transport workers have died in London after catching Covid-19.

Win Tin Soe didn’t catch the virus at work because he’d already been off ill, but his daughter joined calls for drivers to get PPE, saying: “PPE is very important for your safety and the safety of others, I think bus drivers should always have PPE.”

In a bid to keep drivers safe during the pandemic, TfL has announced that passengers will only be able to board buses via their middle doors as of Monday.

TfL says its following Public Health England advice stating “at PPE is not required in non-care settings and could be counterproductive”.

TfL is running a reduced service public transport should only be used by key workers.