THE family of a grandad who died after being crushed by a campervan have paid tribute to their ‘hero and king’.

Chris Hatton, 58, was changing a tyre in preparation for a holiday with his partner on the morning of April 11 when the jack dislodged – causing the Ford Transit van to fall on his chest.

The retired engineer was discovered unconscious outside his home in Barnton by postman David Cook.

He told Mr Hatton’s neighbours who the called emergency services.

Firefighters freed Mr Hatton and passed him over to paramedics.

Mr Hatton – known to his family and friends as ‘Flash’ – was airlifted to Wythenshawe Hospital and died 10 days later on April 24 as a result of crush injuries.

Following an inquest into his death, Mr Hatton’s family have paid tribute.

The family said: “Chris ‘Flash’ Hatton was the ‘man to be seen with’ as he would say.

“A very much-loved father, brother, grandad and partner who tragically passed away with everyone who loved him around at Wythenshawe Hospital on April 21, 2017.

“Flash was always the ‘go to man’ whenever anyone needed anything fixing and was truly well respected in the area.

“He had a huge number of friends and he had a special place in his heart for all of them.

“There’s a big hole in a lot of hearts right now and he will forever be missed and never forgotten.

“Forever our hero and our king.”

The family also paid tribute to Mr Cook for his prompt actions following the accident.

The family said: “As a whole family we would like to take this time to send huge appreciation to David Cook, who at the time was the postman of Alamein Road and was first on scene, playing a huge part in making dad stand more of a chance of survival thanks to his quick actions - we will be forever grateful to you.

Mr Cook looked visibly shaken as he retold his account of the tragic events during Tuesday’s inquest, which took place in Crewe.

He said in his statement that he saw the jack lying by the side of the road, not upright.

Mr Cook said he ‘extremely distressed’ and was unable to help Mr Hatton.

He said Mr Hatton’s partner, Fiona Scoffham was shouting his name ‘Flash’.

The court heard that a forensic vehicle examiner carried out an inspection of the campervan and jack in May.

The examination concluded that there was no fault with the jack, although it was not suitable to be used on the campervan.

Passing a conclusion of accidental death, Coroner Janet Napier, said: “This appeared a perfectly okay day and then became complete hell.

“You see these things on films but don’t think it can ever happen to your loved ones.

“Someone very quickly rushed over and luckily all the other people came and helped but this led to his death which was a complete disaster.

“There didn’t appear to be any fault with that jack but it just was not stable enough and became dislodged which caused the damage.

“It must have been an agonising 10 days before he passed away.”