Mourners gather as Ricky Hatton’s funeral procession begins in Manchester

Mourners gather as Ricky Hatton’s funeral procession begins in Manchester
Mourners gather as Ricky Hatton’s funeral procession begins in Manchester

Flags of Hatton’s beloved Man City flying outside the pubposted at 09:45 BST

Johnny Humphries
bbc news

Manchester City flags in memory of Hatton fly in front of the pub where the funeral procession will begin its journey.

The procession will leave The Cheshire Cheese in Hyde at 09:45.

Manchester City flags with Ricky Hatton's name fly outside a pub

Vanessa Stansfield, pictured right with her friend Emily, has been selling blue flags all week and proceeds will be donated to mental health charity Men’s Club.

She said: “He was a great boxer, an icon, an inspiration to millions of people, but to us he was just a local boy who had time for everyone.”

Vanessa Stansfield stands with her friend Emily outside the pub. He wears a blue t-shirt with a photo of Ricky Hatton in the boxing ring.

Phil Benson, pictured left with Kevin Burton, who works at the Cheshire Cheese pub, said Hatton always stayed “true to his roots”.

“As I got older, the same age as Ricky, he was my idol, a real boxer, a real boy, he succeeded and he never changed,” he said.

“That’s why everyone loved him. He was just down to earth.”

He added that he was “his favorite boxer of all time.”

These are Phil Benson (left) and Kevin Burton (right) from the Rock Academy gym in Doncaster, pictured outside the pub.

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