Tributes to murder victim

Friends of murdered barman David Morley today paid tribute to a "loving and kind" man. The 37-yearold died after he was assaulted on the South Bank early on Saturday.

He was one of five people attacked by four teenagers - a black youth, a white youth and two girls - who were targeting people making their way home from the gay nightclub Heaven.

Mr Morley's best friend Sally Graham spoke of the "vivacious" man who always found time for others.

And she revealed that barman Mr Morley, a survivor of the homophobic nail-bomb attack on the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho, had spent hours by the hospital beds of victims injured in the blast.

Mr Morley was behind the bar when the bomb exploded, killing three people and injuring 73. He received minor injuries but Miss Graham said he suffered years of trauma afterwards.

"He was such a generous person," she said. "After the nail-bomb he went to the hospital every day to see those who had been injured. He would talk to them for hours, holding their hands. There was a lot of pain, but he would listen to every one of them, buoying them up and trying to bring some relief to the horrors they faced.

"He coped with everything on his own. On the outside he gave off this happy exterior to everyone, but I know some of those memories haunted him."

Miss Graham became friends with Mr Morley, known as Cinders, while working at the Admiral Duncan five years ago. "That he survived the bomb but ends up being killed in another homophobic attack is horrendous," she added. "He was the nicest man, who worked for charity and put everyone else before himself. Why anyone would a kill a man like this is beyond me."

She said his parents, who had adopted him, were on holiday when they received a phone call telling them their son had been badly injured in the attack. Despite travelling to London by train immediately, they arrived at the hospital moments after he died from a heart attack caused by his injuries. "They will be devastated," Miss Graham added. "David was close to his parents and chatted to them all the time. I feel so sorry for them.

"He never seemed frightened of a homophobic attack, even after the bombing. He was determined to help those who had been injured to recover and was someone people would turn to for comfort. He never had counselling and kept this amazing smile all the way through the aftermath, making sure everyone else was OK.

"They made him the manager after that and he 'became' the Admiral Duncan. Everyone loved him, everyone knew Cinders." However, Miss Graham said that behind his happy facade, her friend was finding it hard to cope.

"He became a bit down, was drinking a lot and partying to hide what he felt inside," she added. Only in recent months had he managed to turn his life around.

"These last few months were a turning point for him. He had cut down on drinking and changed jobs and he seemed so much happier. His smile did not hide an inner sadness any more.

"I cannot believe that at this turning point of his life, after all he went through, he has been murdered by a bunch of crazed teenagers. It is such an unbelievable waste of an amazing guy."

Another former colleague of Mr Morley ,who was with him at the Admiral Duncan when the bomb went off, said: "He was my rock after the blast. My injuries were severe but he was at my side all the way in the weeks which followed. Even when I had a breakdown a short time after the attack, he was there offering his support. He was an incredible friend. We went through all of that together and survived.

A memorial book for Mr Morley, from Chiswick, will be opened today at St Anne's Church in Soho.