FAMILY and friends of the Manchester Arena bombing victim Martyn Hett are doing a virtual Zoom meeting in memory of the former Altrincham PR manager - three years after his death.

The 29-year-old Coronation Street superfan was one of 22 people killed when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a device as crowds left an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, 2017.

Each year, friends and family have gathered together to celebrate his life but their plans had to change due to the coronavirus crisis.

Speaking to the Messenger, Martyn’s mum Figen Murray said: “We cannot do what we normally do. It cannot happen this year. So we have arranged to have a Zoom call and it is great that we have this technology so we can meet up.

“There is also a tree outside my house (in Stockport) which the council have planted in his memory and I will be going there, keeping some social distancing.

“I can see it every morning from when I go up from bed in the morning to going to bed at night.

“It is new so it will be great to see if gets bigger and we have children playing around the tree in his memory.

“There is also a bench in Heaton Moor, in the park, and I will probably go there during the day and put some flowers down.”

The 59-year-old added that anticipation over the anniversary has been more difficult this year due to lockdown.

She said: “It has been harder than I expected it would be. It (Martyn’s death) has been hard as nobody asked for what happened to happen and I would not wish it on anybody and it is a burden that no parent should carry.”

Figen added that Martyn would have rallied during the uncertain times of the coronavirus crisis.

She said: “He was a really, really funny guy and was positive in every situation.

“He would have organised sing-a-longs and had a great imagination and would have been hilarious.”