Tributes Paid To Manchester Firefighter

15 July 2013, 09:18 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A firefighter who died tackling a fire at a shop in Manchester's being described as a loving father-of-two and 'an old fashioned gentleman'.

Stephen Hunt, 38, was part of a team fighting a fire at Paul's Hair World in Oldham Street, Manchester on Saturday, when he was killed.

Both he and a colleague were pulled from the building and taken to hospital but Mr Hunt, a former soldier, was declared dead on arrival

Police arrested two 15-year-old girls on suspicion of manslaughter, both of whom have been released on bail.

In a statement Mr Hunt's family said: "It is extremely hard to capture all of what Stephen means to our family.

"Stephen was an old-fashioned gentleman with manners that are rare in this day and age.

"With core values which included loving his family, being the best father that he could be, loving and affectionate to those that were close to him, Stephen lived to serve his country, having served for seven years in the Royal Signals and then becoming a firefighter, which was a career that he was very proud of.

"The whole family will miss spending time with Stephen, none more so than his son, daughter and grandmother. We loved his sense of humour and are very proud of him and what he brought to our lives.''