An inquest heard that a British father-of-four died from’multiple injuries’ in a paragliding accident in France.
Martin Dyer, a former football player and nightclub doorman from Ruthin, North Wales, died tragically while paragliding in the Alps.
On July 14, the ‘full of joy and happiness’ ex-Ipswich Town footballer was flying about Talloires-Montmin near Annecy in eastern France when disaster struck.
Mr Dyer received many injuries, according to senior coroner for North Wales John Gittins, who stated no post-mortem examination was performed in France.
He said that he had gotten limited data concerning his death from French officials and had to postpone the inquiry until he obtained more information.
‘We are all extremely devastated to have lost our Dad,’ his family announced at the time of his passing.
He supported us in all we did and convinced us that we could do everything we set our minds to.
The void he leaves in our lives will be felt by many, just as he was loved by many. He was an extremely amusing individual who was constantly making people happy.
‘Our hearts are sad, but the memories we’ve shared will live on forever.’
Mr Dyer, a competent joiner and carpenter, was the father of four children: Beth, Grace, Johan, and Theo.
He was well-known in the Ruthin and Denbigh areas, having spent many years as the manager of Ruthin Town Reserves and the Llangynhafal Summer League team.
Llangynhafal FC announced on Twitter, ‘We are heartbroken to learn of the demise of club great, Martin Dyer.’
‘Martin was a real club mainstay, first as a player, then as a manager.
‘We will be eternally thankful for all of the time he dedicated to the team.’
He was a joy to be around, both on and off the field.
‘During this terrible moment, our thoughts are with all of his family and friends.’ Martin, take it easy.’
‘Uncle Martin, one of the strongest guys I know,’ said Mr Dyer’s bereaved nephew Tom. So many wonderful memories will be with me for the rest of my life. ‘Rest in peace, buddy.’ Russ Williams, who operates gyms in Caerwys and Wrexham and was Martin’s previous boss and personal friend, said: ‘It’s a tremendous shock – he was one of the greatest boys in Ruthin.’
‘He was simply a terrific man, and everyone he knew admired him.’
‘Martin was such a great joiner that he would drop everything to come and assist me with whatever tasks I needed done at home or at my gyms.’
Even before he traveled over to France, despite having an early morning trip, he was working late at my home – that’s just a taste of the kind of guy he was.’
Louise Rafferty described losing her “paragliding wing guy.”
‘Martin Dyer was a very dear friend of mine and a paragliding flying companion of mine,’ she said. ‘He loved flying; it was in his blood.’ He was a one-of-a-kind guy.
‘I shall miss our flying experiences, but I have so many wonderful memories to cherish.’ Thank you very much, Martin.’
Barry Williams expressed his “extremely saddened” loss of “one of my all-time greatest pals.”
‘Martin lived life to the fullest, constantly smiling and one of the funniest individuals I’ve ever met,’ he said.
‘Even after colliding with Mount Snowdon while paragliding a few years ago and hurting his back, he remarked, ‘I struck Snowdon so hard it’s three inches smaller than it used to be.’
‘That sums up his personality. ‘Thinking about his whole family.’
Martin’s major hobby was paragliding, but he was also a highly skilled goalkeeper who played for Ipswich Town in the 1980s.