'How one punch turned my life upside down'

Eight years ago, one punch turned Jake Andrews' life upside down.

The victim of the attack was Jake’s dad, Alan. He was hit in the back of the head during a night out in Manchester.

Alan was already going through a tough time before the assault. He had begun drinking heavily to cope with the pain of losing his wife, Nicola, to cancer in 2016.

Alan was having a cigarette outside a former popular nightclub, Neighbourhood, when he was knocked out cold by a man who he had been in an ‘altercation’ with earlier that night.

He was left on the floor for ten minutes after the blow, blood seeping from his head. He went on to suffer a stroke and a spinal injury, leaving him in a wheelchair.

Months later, in February 2018, he took his own life at just 46-years-old.

The NHS Choices website lists the following helplines and support networks for people to talk to.

Jake and his brother were left with the task of picking up the pieces after losing both parents within two years.

“My world came crashing down,” said the 29-year-old from Salford.

“He was the perfect definition of a father; he worked all his life, always provided and he was the life of the party. He had a beautiful nature, always cared for everyone and provided for his children. He gave a tremendous account of how a father should raise their kids.

“He's a man I will always look up to.

“After he died, I was walking around, and everyone was still going into Tesco, getting on with their lives.

“It was really hard for me to figure out, I was like ‘why isn’t anyone else feeling what I was feeling?’. It was difficult because it’s not how life was supposed to go at a certain age.”

During their final conversation, Alan told Jake that he wanted him to return to boxing, a sport that