Park crowds gather to honour victim Martin
HUNDREDS of people – including several Coronation Street stars – gathered at an emotional yet joyous vigil to remember Manchester Arena bomb victim Martyn Hett.
The 29-year-old was one of the 22 people killed in the atrocity after the Ariane Grande concert last Monday night.
On Sunday, in his home town of Stockport, there were tears as well as laughter as his family and friends gathered at event to remember the extremely popular PR manager.
Heaton Moor park was packed with those who knew Martyn, as well as hundreds of others, who came to pay their respects and celebrate his life.
There were a number of extremely moving speeches from Martyn’s mum, dad, stepdad, siblings, and a number of his friends, as well as from the Mayor of Stockport.
There was also a special appearance from a former member of the cast of his favourite TV show, Coronation Street.
Martyn was a super-fan of the soap and Shobna Gulati, who played Sunita, Alahan in Corrie, read a special poem written by one of the show’s former writers.
Also among the crowd at the event, which was jointly organised by the police and Martyn’s family and friends, was Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz Brown in the ITV soap.
A minute’s silence was held, followed by a rendition of a song by another of Martyn’s favourite friends, Rob.
His mum, Figen, paid tribute to her ‘iconic, fun, eccentric diva’ who was an ‘absolute legend’ and ‘comical beyond belief.’
She said: “A party in the park just for him, he’d be so impressed.
“And he deserves us all to be here, because he touched so many lives in so many ways.
“It’s due to all this love and kindness that I’m never going down the route of hate or anger at those responsible for what happened.
“Badness is a permanent feature in the world at the moment, but I have learnt this week that it also has an abundance of goodness and that by far outweighs the darkness.
“No one can ever take Martyn out of our lives.”
She also said that along with his dad, Paul, she plans to have a tattoo of the hashtag ‘BeMoreMartyn’ that has been widely shared on social media following his tragic death.
Martyn’s tearful partner Russell Hayward said he had lost his soulmate and felt like ‘his heart had been ripped out’.
After the vigil, dozens of floral tributes were laid and candles lit.
Speaking to our sister paper the M.E.N. at the event, Martyn’s brother Dan Hett said the family had been overwhelmed and moved at the outpouring of love and support following the tragedy.