Don't miss a thing by getting the day's biggest stories sent direct to your inbox Michael Allen, a no-nonsense boxing coach from Wallasey, admits that for the first six months of the pandemic he harboured doubts about the true danger of the coronavirus.
The owner of the 12 Quays Boxing Gym in Wallasey didn't know anyone who had contracted the virus and was influenced by the disinformation he read online, the Echo reports.
Although he stuck to the rules regarding mask wearing and social distancing, he didn't believe he was at risk. Things changed in June 2020 when he began to feel ill.
A week later, he was in intensive care at Arrowe Park Hospital in an oxygen bubble mask - wide-eyed with fear as he desperately tried to catch his breath.