Manchester bomb victim Martyn Hett to have ‘theatrical’ funeral

The mother of one of the 22 people killed in the Manchester Arena bombing says she has forgiven the man who killed her son.

Martyn Hett was murdered when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated his device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the arena on 22 May.

His mother Figen Murray told Sky News: "The man who did this was a young man who was brainwashed and radicalised from an early age.

"He did what he thought was the right thing in his crazy mind and he did it and that was the end of it.

"I can’t change that. But actually, I choose to forgive him."

She added: "Martyn actually had discussed and planned his funeral and the way he wanted to exit.

"He wanted to be cremated, he wanted to have two white horses and he wanted everybody to be dressed in black, with something fabulous."

Thousands of people are expected to attend the 29-year-old’s funeral in Manchester today, which his family said would be "theatrical".

Coronation Street superfan Mr Hett was a popular figure on social media and many tributes have been paid since his death, including from some of his icons such as Mariah Carey, Michelle McManus, and the Corrie cast.

His stepfather Stuart Murray told Sky News: "He was just a bundle of fun.

"He was somebody you would probably want to be with. He was sort of the life and soul of the party.

"It seems like he was fearless about life because he wasn’t frightened of talking about his own death.

"I genuinely think he made people feel very special. Some people have this ability to make other people special and I think Martin had that.

"I think he’ll live on as an inspiration to people."

(c) Sky News 2017: Manchester bomb victim Martyn Hett to have ‘theatrical’ funeral