HE was only 20 when his dad suddenly died, but Daniel Welch knew he wanted to step up and be the father figure for his four younger siblings. So the young welder moved back home to give his brother and sisters the same “stability, love and support” he had received from their dad growing up. It is a role he has continued to play for 30 years — and today he has been named The Sun on Sunday’s World’s Best Dad.
Fighting back tears, Daniel, 50, told us: “Family is everything to me. We were always a very close family and Dad was a role model to me. “Dad had been a brilliant father so I wanted to give my brother and sisters what I’d had growing up — stability, support and love.
“There were five of us kids and Mum left behind when he died. So I picked up the slack. “I didn’t want them to miss out, and through the years I’ve continued to look after them as best I can.
“I’m beyond chuffed at winning. I’ve never won anything before.” Daniel’s dad Richard was 43 when he took his own life after losing his job.
He also left behind wife Candy, then 42, two-year-old Bethany, Luke, nine, Sianne, 15, and 18-year-old Kirsty. It was Kirsty who nominated her big brother for our title, which comes with nearly £3,000 of prizes. Kirsty, now 49, of Bradfield, Essex, said: “Dads come in all sorts of shapes and sizes — and Daniel is a very special one.
“He’s an amazing person and, without him, things would have been very different for us. “Daniel was just .
