A LARGE crowd attended a poignant vigil on Sunday for former Altrincham PR manager Martyn Hett, who died in the Manchester Arena bomb attack.

Friends and relatives were joined by many people who did not know him to celebrate 29-year-old Martyn's life.

Coronation Street, stars including Shobna Gulati, attended the vigil in Heaton Moor Park for the Corrie 'superfan', and spoke to the crowd. His family and friends also spoke at the vigil.

His mother, Figen, said: "I am never, ever, going down the route of hate or anger towards whoever was responsible for what happened.

"I have learned this week that the world has an abundance of goodness. this, by far, outweighs the darkness."

She received a standing ovation.

Former Corrie star Julie Hesmondhalgh tweeted, in response to a floral tribute to Martyn in the park, which features a photo of her near his feet: "Honoured to be at his fabulous feet. Beautiful night of celebrating a life lived to the full ????? #BeMoreMartyn."

The hashtag 'bemoremartyn', encouraging everyone to follow Martyn's example and to grab life's opportunities, is trending worldwide.

The vigil came after Martyn's family said last week that they are 'heartbroken'.

Martyn "just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time," they said.

Martyn had just left his job at Rumpus PR in Altrincham to go on a trip to travel around the US.

His family said: "Words cannot describe the generosity and kindness our families have received over the past few days.

"We are overwhelmed with the amount of lives he has touched and the kind words that are being said about him.

"Martyn was the icon of all our lives. His infectious laugh and his niche sense of humour will stay with us forever.

"He lived for every moment of every day and fitted an entire lifetime of memories into his 29 years.

"Whilst they have taken the life out of Martyn, no one can, and ever will, take Martyn out of our lives."

Rumpus PR paid tribute to Martyn on its website: "Martyn loved life, he celebrated it every day and packed it to the brim with his passions.

"He taught us so much about seizing opportunities and rejoicing in everything life could offer no matter how small, a birthday, a great moment at work, a celebrity follower, he made them special, now we know why.

"He was taken from this world too soon, by forces we will never truly understand. Our heartache goes out to his family and friends, we will miss him. RIP Martyn."

Mr Hett, from Stockport, was at the Ariana Grande gig with a friend when they became separated.

The Coronation Street fan was interviewed on television about his tattoo of the character Deirdre Barlow.

Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz Brown in the soap, described him as a "beautiful soul".

She told BBC 5 live: "He was an extremely fun-loving, unique person... he was a delight."

She said the Coronation Street cast "wanted to send all our love to his family and the families of all the people that have died and that are in hospital."

Martyn, from the Heaton Moor area of Stockport, was among 22 people who were killed in the explosion at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

A further 59 people, including children, were injured and taken to hospital after the concert.