The heartbroken family of a man pushed over and killed in a pub beer garden say Christmas will never be the same.
Steven Shevels died of a blunt force head injury on concrete within hours of his son learning his identity.
Martin Greensmith reacted angrily after discovering who his father was while drinking with family and a friend on Christmas Eve.
The 37-year-old shoved Mr Shevels in the chest after they crossed paths in the Queen’s Head pub beer garden in Willington.
His estranged daughter Chloe was told of the 61-year-old’s death while opening presents on Christmas Day, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
“I made the regrettable choice that I needed to focus on myself,” she said. “My father did make efforts to reach out to me but I always thought I would have the chance to reconcile in the future.
“I will now always feel guilty that I have not had the chance to rebuild the relationship we had.
“He wasn’t a dead-beat dad. It was me who chose to take a step back and that is something that I will carry with me forever now that he has been taken from us.”
She added: “I now dread the thought of Christmas and reliving the experience every year.”
Mr Shevels’ sister Angela Thompson said the death of his twin sister devastated him, but he never sought help to process his loss.
She said losing their parents devastated her brother further.
“He never sought help,” she said. “He was as deep as the ocean.
“His favourite thing to do was listen to rock music, play his guitar and play on his Xbox.”
Ms Thompson said Steven could become loud in pubs and tell bizarre stories.
“He was the victim of an unprovoked and selfish act of violence which took his life too soon,” she added.
“His passing has left a huge hole in our hearts.
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“It was bad enough for this to have happened but for it to happen on Christmas Eve makes it a lot worse.”
Greensmith, 37, of Rockingham Road, Sunnybrow, Willington, was convicted of manslaughter after a trial at Teesside Crown Court last month.
Judge Jonathan Carroll jailed Greensmith for six years, saying Mr Shevels posed no physical threat in the pub.
At trial, pathologist Jennifer Bolton said Mr Shevels suffered a cardiac arrest while unconscious and that his death was caused by the fall, not an underlying heart condition.