My Andy was the best dad and husband

TO THOUSANDS of Mancunians, he was the legendary pub landlord at the helm of one of the city's most significant venues. But there was another side to Andy Martin.

- STEPHEN TOPPING

While he was devoted to The Star and Garter, fatherhood gave Andy a new purpose. He loved family life so much that he would tell wife Helen Kitchen that he 'could do it for a living' 

Andy tragically died on Friday, aged 52, leaving behind Helen and their two young daughters Jasmine, five, and Georgina, three.

"He apparently said to a friend he 'didn't know who he was' before having the three of us," Helen, 41, told the M.E.N. "Everybody would say to us that they had never seen him this happy. We were this family unit, with so much love in this house. Nobody could really hurt us. Honestly, it was just a dream."

The couple first met in 2009. Like so many others, Helen went on a night out at The Star and Garter, and soon became a regular. But on one occasion, as she sat in the car park smoking with friends, she noticed Andy walking towards them and told her pals: "There's that bouncer." After being corrected about the 'manager' by a mate, Helen gave Andy a look, and he went on to tell her how he 'fell in love with her at that point!

The pair became close friends, often watching TV together, and in April 2010 Helen began working at the bar after losing her job. "We were on the phone all the time," she said.

"I would have my close friends saying 'when are you and Andy getting together?! I'd say 'it's not like that, don't be ridiculous' - then after 18 months or two years, we did get together."

The pair soon realised they had 'something really special, before the couple started a family in 2018. "From the moment Jasmine was born I saw a different side to Andy," Helen said.